Sparks and Sacrifice
by JamesK716
Summary: Two years have passed since the Grave Eclipse, and all of Angara is at stake. The Tuaparang are stronger than ever, but so are the Warriors of Vale. But will they have what it takes to stop the High Empyror?
1. Prologue

_**Sparks and Sacrifice**_

_**By JamesK716**_

_**Prologue**_

The High Empyror paced back and forth within his imperial chambers. Finally fed up with walking, he sat upon the throne in the center of the room. The room itself was not overly fancy nor very regal. The Tuaparang were not a nation that showed power through material things. Rather they focused on combat and technology, and were quite successful for it. The only out of the ordinary thing about the room was the massive window that showcased Weyard behind the throne. Slowly, the High Empyror sank his forehead into his hands and exhaled slowly. Today was not being a good day.

First, his scouts had finally arrived back only to report that the Apollo Lens hadn't been fired at Mt. Aleph. Instead the ancient weapon had engulfed the Eclipse Tower and ended the Grave Eclipse. Second, it was reported that the first had happened solely because of the Children of Vale, descendants of the Warriors of Vale. Third, a pair of powerful Angaran Nations was no longer under the High Empyror's control, meaning that the Vanguard would be displeased. Fourth, it had appeared that Blados and Chalis may have in fact betrayed the Tuaparang.

Fifth and finally, Abaddon, Vanguard of the Master was late.

The Vanguard was supposed to be here by now, yet he wasn't. It was quite worrisome, mainly due to the fact that the Vanguard had never before been late. Something could have happened to him, though the Vanguard could most definitely take care of himself, so the High Empyror was not too worried yet. Still as a matter of principal, it had made the High Empyror uneasy. If the master was late, then that meant he would already be displeased. And that meant that the High Empyror would take punishment.

The High Empyror rubbed his eyes slowly, trying to clear his muddled up mind. Finally, he looked up to see a figure wearing a dark cloak. The cloak covered everything, so the High Empyror could only see the glowing red eyes of the Vanguard. Beyond that, there was only darkness.

In his mind, the High Empyror was thinking _about time you show up_. Instead he said "Abaddon, how good of you to come." It was still an insult, simply a veiled one, but it worked for the High Empyror.

The Vanguard grunted. "What news do you have for me?" Abaddon asked, his voice dark and gruff.

"Our plan revolving around the Grave Eclipse has failed. Two of our generals may have betrayed us, there are being brought here now for questioning. We have lost both Ayuthay and Morgal to the Warriors of Vale. The descendants of the Warriors have grown powerful in their own right. They defeated two of our Generals and a Chaos Chimera. I've even heard reports that they defeated Dullahan. Finally, Abaddon, The Apollo Lens was fired at Eclipse Tower instead of Mt. Aleph. Furthermore, because it was fired, it has lost its power, making it useless to us." The High Empyror reported.

"I see." The Vanguard replied. "We will have to amend our plans. Are the new Psynergy Vortex's in place?"

The High Empyror smiled, this would make the Vanguard happy.

Although some Psynergy Vortexes were natural, the Tuaparang had created the majority of them; including all three Mourning Moons. The Vortexes that were natural were made so that they would absorb the excess amounts of Alchemy available to Weyard, their by keeping balance. The Vortexes grew larger when they were around huge amounts of Psynergy and Alchemy. The plan for the Apollo Lens had been to fire it at Mt. Aleph. Mount Aleph already had a excess amount of Alchemy, because it was the birthplace of Alchemy. If the Apollo Lens had hit Mt. Aleph then it would have created a Mourning Moon stronger than every other Vortex ever made. It could have actually wiped Angara from existence completely.

"They shall soon be activated Vanguard. We have Airships correctly positioned. They are merely waiting for the command itself." The High Empyror replied.

Abaddon growled. "Call them off, we need to wait." He commanded.

The High Empyror sighed. That was the only thing that hadn't been completely screwed up. "But why? We have abundant resources, and we even have the manpower to overtake most of the cities." The High Empyror exclaimed, greatly confused by the Vanguard.

"You said that Morgal and Ayuthay are under leadership of the Children of Vale, correct?" The Vanguard asked.

The High Empyror nodded slowly.

"Well then it should be even easier. We can come up with a diplomatic reason to begin war with those countries. Kaocho will attack Ayuthay and Bilibin will attack Morgal. It's that easy." Abaddon said with a smile on his hooded face.

"But why don't we invade? We have the strength to stop them all!"

"Because the more deaths that happen, the stronger that our master grows."

The High Empyror was surprised. Abaddon rarely ever mentioned the Master. The High Empyror himself knew very little of the master he was serving. What Abaddon had revealed was that the Master was just as strong as the Golden Sun itself. The High Empyror didn't truly believe it though, the Golden Sun brought reckoning across all of Weyard; there was nothing that could equal it in the eyes of the High Empyror. The other small facts that the High Empyror knew were that the Master wasn't a person but rather an entity, which was something that the High Empyror thought was true. The Master had clashed with the Warriors of Vale before, and that was why he was very wary of them.

The High Empyror hadn't known where the Master's power came from. To hear that deaths increased his power was valuable knowledge.

"What would the Master require of us?" The High Empyror asked, hoping to continue discussing the Master.

Abaddon grunted. "He would require you to obey me."

The High Empyror growled. "What do you want me to do?"

"What I have already said. Retreat your forces and wait for me to tell you when to activate the Vortexes." Abaddon said.

The High Empyror sneered. "Very well Abaddon. Let us hope that you are successful in your endeavors."

Abaddon seemed to nod, then in a blast of darkness, was gone.

The High Empyror did not trust Abaddon, but he would play along, for now.

"Bring in the Generals!" The High Empyror shouted to his guards outside the door. The guards were extremely trustworthy, they were willing to give up everything for their Empyror, and were completely willing to die for him.

The High Empyror waited, and a minute later, four Generals walked inside accompanied by four Tuaparang soldiers. Two of the Generals were bound, two were unbound and angry.

The first of the two bound Generals was Blados. The warrior was a military prodigy. Born to an couple that were descendants of the Tuaparang, he was technically a Dark Adept. Though in reality, he was more aligned with Mercury. All of the Tuaparang Generals were technically Dark Adepts, as they were descendants of the Umbra Clan, and could bend darkness to their will, to an extent. Blados himself was also a Mercury Adept, meaning he had control over water and ice. He was an extremely skillful swordsman; able to fight and defeat almost all of the Tuaparang in one on one duels. He had actually trained half of the Tuaparang Guard in swordplay.

The other bound General was Chalis. She was extremely beautiful women who specialty was wordplay, which was why, the High Empyror planned on asking Blados the questions. In battle, Chalis utilized clawed gauntlets to scratch and slash her opponents. Chalis had horns that came out of her head that signified her as a descendant of the Umbra Clan, which made her a Dark Adept; though Chalis actual Psynergy abilities lay with Mars. However, among Mars Adepts, Chalis was unique. She was given the ability to manipulate emotions between her opponents, confusing them and perhaps even making them turn against each other.

The first of the unbound Generals was named Terra. She was quite attractive, and was a formidable warrior. Terra used two small short swords that she used during combat. She wore a dark brown shirt that was quite revealing. With that, she wore tan pants and brown combat boots. On her back were two sheaths that formed an X on her back. She had short dirty blond hair, and usually had some type of smirk on her face. Terra was fiercely loyal to the Tuaparang, and was willing to do anything that would benefit the Tuaparang. Like all Tuaparang Generals, Terra was a descendant of the Umbra Clan, which meant she was technically a Dark Adept, though only marginally so. However, unlike other Tuaparang Generals, Terra had been raised by the High Empyror himself. Terra used Venus Psynergy in combat, and could defeat almost everyone in the Tuaparang.

The final of the unbound Generals was Typhon. Typhon was a physically imposing man. He had blond hair down to his shoulders and had a full beard. Typhon had a jacket on that was blood red, though it remained unzipped. Typhon had bladed gauntlets over his jacket on his arms. The blades could easily cut a rock in half. Typhon wore black armored pants, with a brown belt that sagged. On his back was a large broadsword. Typhon was a descendant of the Umbra Clan, thereby technically making him a Dark Adept. Typhon utilized Jupiter Psynergy in combat, and was easily among the strongest warriors in all of Weyard.

Together, the four Generals were a near unstoppable team, though it was extremely rare that they actually worked together.

"Blados and Chalis, I expected you to be better than this." The High Empyror said as he crossed his arms.

"I am sorry my liege." Chalis began. "But we had no choice."

"Silence, Chalis!" The High Empyror commanded. "Allow Blados to speak for himself."

"My lord, we were acting for the benefit of the Tuaparang…"

"Benefit of the Tuaparang my #$." Terra said, mocking him.

"Terra let him speak." The High Empyror said, staring down Blados.

"If the Apollo Lens had been fired at Mt. Aleph then countless Tuaparang lives would have been ended. We couldn't allow that to happen." Blados said, desperation in his voice.

"Then why did Arcanus report that you tried to fire it at us?"

"Because my liege-" Chalis began

"SILENCE, CHALIS!" The High Empyror shouted. Instantly, Chalis shrank back, fearful of what he would do to her.

"Because we wanted power for ourselves."

"Blados, you weren't supposed to say that!" Chalis screeched at her partner.

The High Empyror chuckled. Blados was always honorable. Though he may not answer a question he most definitely wouldn't directly lie. Blados left that to Chalis.

"You are nothing if not honorable Blados. And for that, I respect you. Most would not have the courage to speak that truth to me." The High Empyror applauded. "Now I must decide what to do with you. Terra, Typhon, do either of you have any ideas?" The High Empyror asked.

"They have betrayed the Tuaparang, for that they should be executed, slowly." Terra said, sliding her finger across her neck for emphasis.

"I do not care what we do with them, though they certainly should not be trusted." Typhon said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The High Empyror thought for several minutes. Blados and Chalis should probably be executed for their treason. Yet, they could both still be useful. Blados was an extremely formidable warrior, and Chalis' silver tongue was surpassed by no one. The High Empyror leaned back in his chair. He was about to order their deaths, when brilliance struck him.

Smiling devilishly, the High Empyror spoke. "Blados, Chalis, because of your treason against the Tuaparang I strip you of your command. You are to be exiled from the Tuaparang. Typhon, Terra, leave us. I wish to converse with Blados and Chalis alone." Typhon left quickly, while Terra looked annoyed, but left. "Blados, Chalis, I have a proposition for you."

"And what might that be?" Chalis asked with a seductive smile on her face.

"Officially, you will be exiled from the Tuaparang. Unofficially, you will still take orders from me. You will be my ace in the hole, the enemy that no one will expect."

"With all due respect, High Empyror, why would you need us? You have hundreds fo thousands soldiers available to you." Blados said in slight disbelief.

"Because we are pulling our forces away. But I want unofficial Generals in Weyard instead of on this airship."

"Plus, if we are successful in your missions, then you get credit for it. If we are unsuccessful, then you can disown us further." Chalis explained to her partner.

"You always were a sharp one Chalis. Yes that's exactly right. Will you do it?" the High Empyror asked.

Chalis and Blados exchanged a look, then nodded together. "Yes my lord, we will leave immediately.

The High Empyror smiled as his exiled Generals left the throne room. This plan would work perfectly.

_**Author's Notes:**_ This is technically a sequel fic, but I'm going to do my absolute best to make it so that anyone can read this story without reading my atrocious first story, complete with flashbacks if necessary. So if you get confused, please let me know so I can help you and fix the problem. This story is going to have the follow ships: Spirit-Shipping (Matt and Sveta, this will get featured more and more as the story progresses.). Spark-Shipping (Tyrell and Karis) with a conflict of Storm-Shipping (Karis and Amiti). Those are the major ones. Steam-shipping (Garet and Mia), which will be good.. I'll be honest, Sparkshipping is heavy in this. The follow will probably be in the story; they just won't have a major focus on them. Seven-Eye-Shipping (Himi and Rief, this will have several character moments, and be closer to primary.). Sailing-Shipping (Nowell and Piers, this has some good moments that I'm planning.). Vale-Shipping (Jenna and Isaac, this relationship is already defined, so it won't have any/many relationship focuses). Lighthouse-Shipping (Felix and Sheba). There will be some amount of OCs, mainly as villains, though, as you can tell from the prologue, Tuaparang are a main enemy force. **Also,** if you get confused on anything in this story please let me know and I will PM you an answer or answer it in the next chapter, unless it's something plot sensitive to this story. Thanks again!


	2. A Beginning

_A/N: just real quick, I took this first chapter down and edited it, basic plot is the same, in case you already read it. The fight at the beginning is the exact same, the rest is mostly just better written dialogue and description; next chapter should be up soonish. More at the bottom. _

**Chapter One: A Beginning**

Matthew ducked quickly, as the Darksword went barely over his head. Then, the Venus Adept jogged back quickly, narrowly avoiding the Darksword that was coming at him. Matthew continued to move backwards, until his back was to a large stone pillar. It was then, that Matthew leapt as high as he could and raised his feet up. Just as gravity forced Matthew down, the Darksword plunged into the stone pillar behind the Venus Adept. Matthew grinned as he landed gracefully on the Darksword. Matthew raised the Sol Blade at his opponent and smiled.

"I win." The son of Isaac said with a smirk.

"Not yet you don't," shouted out Matthew's fiery opponent.

The opponent leapt away from the Sol Blade, and charged up some Mars Psynergy.

"Flare Storm!" Matthew's opponent cried out.

Quickly, bright red-orange flames emerged from the gauntlets of Matthew's opponent. The fire quickly flew towards Matthew, who leapt high up and off of the Darksword, narrowly dodging the Flare Storm. The fires quickly incinerated the stone pillar behind Matthew, and turned the color of the Darksword to a bright orange. As Matthew landed, he rolled to his left, avoiding the fireball that came his way.

Matthew came up on one knee, the Sol Blade firmly grasped in his right hand. Matthew looked up, and watched as his opponent rushed to the Darksword. Matthew sprinted towards the Darksword, but wasn't quick enough; his opponent had taken the cursed weapon into his hand.

Matthew rushed his adversary, hoping to catch him off guard, but the foe was ready. Matthew swung forward, aiming for the head, only for his foe to block the strike. Matthew sidestepped, and swung again, this time waist high. The Sol Blade barely caught the edge of the foe's armor, leaving small cut in the demon mail.

Matthew flipped backward, dodging the incoming attack from his foe. Then, the earth Adept crouched low and swung forward, sending the Sol Blade mere inches from the foe's chest.

"Do I win now?" Matthew asked, holding the blade dangerously close to his opponent.

"Not yet." Gritted the adversary, as he leapt as far away as he could and summoned forth one of his strongest attacks. "Pyroclasm!" Shouted the Mars Adept.

Instantly, the ground beneath Matthew began to glow with heat. Matthew tried using his Venus Adept powers to stop it, but the Pyroclasm was simply too strong. The ground burst forth with lava, trying to incinerate the hero of Angara. Matthew used his _Grip_ Psynergy, to pull himself across the plateau, towards a stone pillar.

Matthew was angry now. That attack could have seriously injured him. The Sol Blade glowed, and Matthew smirked.

Matthew rushed towards his opponent at tops speeds, and then shouted. "Centurion!"

To Matthew, time seemed to slow down, allowing him to strike his foe as many times as necessary. Matthew didn't cut to deep; after all, this was just a training exercise. Soon enough, the moment ended, and time resumed its normal pace, albeit Tyrell now had multiple little cuts along his body.

"Matthew! Cut it out!" Karis shouted from the cabin atop the Goma Plateau. "This is just training, you don't need to actually hurt Tyrell."

Matthew sighed, Karis was right… per usual. "Fine." Matthew breathed out slowly, as he turned around and began walking up to the cabin. "You did a lot better today, Tyrell. You're really improving."

"Not enough." Tyrell replied as he sheathed the Darksword and walked with Matthew. "I'm still not as good as you with my sword."

"You will be eventually, Tyrell." Matthew replied as he pushed open the door to the cabin.

Tyrell rolled his eyes, unsure of his own abilities.

The cabin was quaint; just big enough for five people to live in, though not always comfortably. Isaac was using up a large table off to the right. It was filled with boring maps, dull charts, and even tedious theories. Matthew's father, Isaac, had been researching the Psynergy Vortexes.

Matthew took the stairs down and went directly to the washroom. The powerful Venus Adept sank into a tub and relaxed as the water in it cooled him off. It was refreshing to get to relax. Although, it usually proved to be quite boring too.

Matthew missed the excitement of being out in the wilderness with close friends. He enjoyed the flavor of fighting monsters, sleeping beneath the stars and eating Eoleo's cooking, despite how terrible it was. It was nice, in an odd sort of way. None of those things were particularly appetizing. Fighting monsters was deadly. Sleeping beneath the stars meant that it was cold, and eating Eoleo's cooking could be just as deadly as monsters.

Matthew finished his bath soon, and quickly switched into a fresh tunic. After fastening his sheath to his belt, Matthew proceeded back up the stairs to the main room of the cabin. While traversing the stairs, Matthew could hear Tyrell and Karis arguing. Generally it was hilarious, though on occasion it was simply annoying.

Matthew jumped over the final stair and walked towards the large table that Isaac was standing over. To Matthew, these papers were useless and meaningless. They could on occasion be useful. But Matthew didn't like relying on papers and calculations to discover information. Matthew far preferred to go out into the world and see the facts before his eyes.

"Dad, any progress on the Vortexes?" Matthew questioned. In truth, Matthew had given up caring about the Vortexes. Instead, he simply asked out of courtesy.

The Vortexes were special. Especially the Mourning Moons, though that had happened two years ago. The Third Mourning Moon had been just as devastating as the previous ones, if not more so. The Cabin had to be rebuilt, and a few mountains had come crashing down. Several different cities had to be rebuilt though most ended up better than before.

"No, not yet." Came Isaac's frustrated reply.

Matthew rolled his eyes; Isaac didn't usually figure anything new about Vortexes.

"But, I have a mission for the three of you." Isaac said, finally standing up from his large table.

Matthew's eyes flashed in excitement. "What is it?" He asked quickly.

"Emperor Unan of Sana sent a message. He has arranged for a large meeting between the nations of Angara. He's weary of an assassination, and wants us to guard the monarchs in attendance. So, I am sending the three of you." Isaac answered as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the table.

Matthew just stared. This was it. He would finally get to go on another adventure. He would get to sleep under the stars, and fight monsters. The Venus Adept would get a chance to really live again.

"Who all will be there?" Tyrell asked, scratching his head.

"Your friends." Isaac replied, smirking ever-so-slightly.

Tyrell was confused, he liked things simple. "My friends are already here."

"Your other friends." Garet said, stepping into the cabin.

"He means Sveta, Eoleo and Amiti. Plus, my father will be there and I would think that Rief and Kraden will attend as well." Karis told Tyrell.

"What about Himi?" Tyrell asked.

"Probably not. She's the princess of Yamata City, she should be there, and not at an Angaran Peace Summit." Replied Karis.

"Actually Karis." Garet started, walking towards the group from upstairs. "The Summit is being held in Yamata City, because it's a neutral location. So Himi probably will be there."

Karis' face seemed to darken slightly, in Matthew opinion.

"Well, I guess we can go then." Matthew said, trying to sound like he hadn't changed his mind solely because he would get to see Sveta again.

"I thought that would change your mind." Isaac smirked as he spoke.

Matthew blushed and looked down, embarrassed. Tyrell and Karis both laughed, it was very obvious that Matthew was quite taken with the young Beastwoman.

"So it's decided then, you'll leave tomorrow morning." Garet said.

XxX

Matthew wasn't quite sure what was going on. Usually, right now he would be in his bed asleep, or walking home from Patcher's Place. Usually, he would be dreaming of Sveta or his family. On occasion, Matthew even dreamed up nightmares of Alex killing everyone. Yet, this was different. Even those nightmares still felt fake. The terror was genuine, but the event wasn't. Matthew thought he was dreaming, yet it felt so real. It felt realer that any dream from before.

Matthew looked around. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, though Matthew wasn't sure where. Matthew slowly leaned over the cliff to look. Beneath him, was nothing. Darkness. Pitch black nothingness. It was then that Matthew realized he was standing on the Gaia Plateau.

Named after Gaia Falls, the Gaia Plateau was on the edge of Weyard. For some unknown reason, every time the falls expanded, the Gaia plateau was moved to the edge of Weyard. Matthew searched the premises, and saw that the sky was its normal blue color. The ground he was standing on was a pleasant green. The cliff was made of firm rock. The ocean rocked back and forth in a magnificent shade of blue. Everything seemed perfect.

Yet, Matthew felt fear.

"Matthew." Said the most beautiful voice that the Venus Adept knew.

Matthew whirled around to see the one who he loved the most, Sveta.

"Sveta." Matthew breathed out.

Sveta giggled, and walked towards Matthew. She gently stroked his cheek and smiled.

Matthew took both her hands and forgot about any danger or fear from before. He could accomplish anything if Sveta was at his side.

Sveta had such a pleasant look on her face, Matthew thought. He was completely shocked at what happened next.

Some powerful force shoved Sveta off Gaia Plateau. She just barely reached out in time to grasp the edge of the endless cliff. Matthew dove after her and reached his arm down to pull her up. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite reach his hand.

"You have choice Matthew." It was a voice Matthew hadn't heard before. The Venus turned his head back and saw The Wise One, the most powerful entity in all of Weyard.

"Matthew, if you go to the Peace Conclave, then you will endure a fate as terrible as death, but you will save Sveta. If you do not go, you will live to a ripe old age, but will never see your love again." The Wise One stated with his imposing and powerful voice.

"Is that a threat not to go?" Matthew asked.

"It is a warning. I cannot interfere with what you do." The Wise One replied.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Do you have any other advice?" Matthew asked, determined to save Sveta.

The Wise One seemed to… chuckle? "Don't allow yourself to be consumed by the darkness."

The Wise One began phase away.

"Wait, don't go! What does that mean?" Matthew asked still reaching to grab Sveta's arm.

The Wise One didn't answer, and then he disappeared.

Matthew returned his attention back to Sveta and screamed in horror. Just as he turned around, Sveta fell. Her cry seemed to pierce through Matthew's very soul, and he simply wanted to curl up and cry. Luckily, it was a vision, not reality.

Matthew awoke a few moments later, upset by his vision. What had it meant? Would Sveta die? Would Matthew? It was scary, knowing that something bad would happen, but not knowing what.

Matthew sat up and looked around, slowing his heart rate, and calming. A small window in the shared room displayed the sun just barely coming over the horizon, telling Matthew to get up. Matthew vaulted off his bed, landing next to the ladder. Matthew popped his neck, back and knuckles, noticing that both Karis and Tyrell were still asleep. It was usual for Tyrell to sleep as long as he could, though Karis was usually the first one awake.

Matthew shrugged his shoulders and went to his dresser, putting on his clothes. It didn't take long, so Matthew went ahead with the rest of his usual morning activities. When Matthew returned to his room to wake Tyrell and Karis, he noticed something. Karis' nightgown was quite loose, revealing much of her assets. Out of decency, Matthew pulled her blanket all the way to her neck, and then slowly shook her awake.

"Matthew? What are you doing?" Karis asked as she stirred awake.

"It's time to go." Matthew replied. "I'm going to go wake up Tyrell."

"Okay." Karis said as she finally came fully awake.

Matthew walked over to Tyrell and woke him up quickly. "Tyrell, it's time to go! WAKE UP!" Matthew shouted, in order to wake the powerful Mars Adept.

Tyrell opened one eye experimentally. "Do I have to Matthew?" He asked, while trying to return to sleep.

"Yes, now get up." Matthew said as he stood up.

Matthew left to the room after that, gathering the necessary supplies for the trip to Sana.

Karis stood to get dressed, and bent down to grab her normal clothes. Once she had the, in hand she walked into the washroom to change. Tyrell finally stood up and put on his clothes. It took a few moments, but both got dressed quick enough. Tyrell and Karis both left quickly, and followed Matthew outside.

Just as they were leaving, Isaac and Garet both came out waving.

"Good luck son!" Garet shouted.

"Stay safe!" Isaac shouted with a large smile on his face.

The trio of Adepts left quickly, it was going to be a long journey. They hadn't even been walking for a minute when Tyrell and Karis began bickering. Matthew sighed, this would be a long journey.

_**Author's Notes:**_ reviews are always encouraged, and are quite helpful too. Jettzul: Shippings are the relationships that will be in the story. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. And any constructive criticism would be great. Also, I outlined the entire story for this fic, so it hopefully won't get off topic too much. It runs to a total of 66 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue. There are a few OC heroes, and several OC villains (in case you don't know, OC means Original Character,) Thanks for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	3. Of Journeys and Drama

_Real quick, there are some spoilers for Dark Dawn in this chapter, so read at your own risk._

_**Chapter 2: Of Journeys and Drama**_

Matthew groaned, Karis and Tyrell had been bickering the entire time since leaving the cabin. It was incredibly annoying, and trying Matthew's substantial patience.

"Karis, why are you always so bossy?" Tyrell asked loudly.

"I am not bossy!" Karis said just as loud.

"Yes you are! You're also mean and spiteful!"

"Maybe if you weren't such a klutz, I wouldn't have to direct you all the time!"

It had continued on like this for hours. It had grown annoying an hour ago. Now it was pure torture. Matthew was almost ready to make them be quiet.

Matthew was right about to speak, when Karis shouted louder than ever before her greatest insult to Tyrell.

"It's your fault that we caused the Grave Eclipse! If you hadn't broken the freaking Soarwing, we wouldn't have had to go and get the Roc Feather. In fact, Tyrell," She said his name with disgust. "It's your fault that all those people died during the eclipse!" She shouted.

Tyrell was steaming with anger. It wasn't his fault. It was Arcanus, Blados and Chalis' fault. They were the ones who had forced the group to activate the Alchemy Machines. Tyrell knew that in his head, but his heart simply wouldn't accept it.

"You want to know something about yourself Karis? You're a monster. You hurt people until they're broken, then you hurt them more. I hate you Karis, and I wish you didn't exist!" As he spoke, Tyrell pushed her down to the ground.

Tyrell didn't mean it. He couldn't, Karis had been too much a part of his life for him to wish that she didn't exist. But, Karis didn't know that. All she knew was that someone she cared for deeply hated her. What she knew, was that, Tyrell, a friend who had known her since her birth, wished that she didn't exist. And that hurt her. Badly.

Karis got up quickly and rushed forward, tears streaming out of her eyes. Matthew flashed Tyrell a look of anger; saying that they would talk later. And then, the earth Adept sprinted after his Jupiter friend.

Soon enough, Matthew reflected, he and Karis reached Patcher's Place. It was the last haven before the trio started the actual journeying. They had decided earlier that they were going to head south until they reached the beaches near to Harapa. Karis had sent a letter to Amiti requesting a ship to transport them, and Amiti had happily obliged.

Karis rushed into the Inn, and Matthew followed behind her. He tossed a purse of coins to Patcher, who handed two keys in return. Matthew nodded in thanks and continued after Karis. He found her moments later, leaning against a wall crying.

"Karis." Matthew began, moving towards his winded friend. "Come here." Matthew wrapped his arms around Karis and pulled her close in a hug. "Shhh, it's okay, he didn't mean it."

"Then why did he say it?" She asked between sobs.

"Because he was mad." Matthew said.

"And that lets him berate me like that?" Karis asked, tears rolling down her face.

"No, I'm going to talk to him about that later."

Karis cried more, and more… and more. Eventually, she lulled to sleep, tears still fresh on her face. Matthew picked her up slowly and laid her on one of the beds. As he put her down, Matthew noticed that she was bleeding a little bit. Matthew used a Potent Cure and stopped the bleeding, it was probably from when Tyrell pushed down Karis.

After he put Karis down, Matthew left the Inn and was surprised to discover Tyrell leaning against a wall.

"How is she?" He asked a look of concern imprinted on his face.

"How is she? How the heck do you think she is?" Matthew asked angrily.

Tyrell's anger flared up briefly. "I asked because I care." He said with a straight face.

It was funny, Tyrell generally couldn't keep a straight face when he was lying.

"If you care then why do you wish she didn't exist?" Matthew asked, pointing a finger beneath Tyrell's chin.

"Did you hear what she said to me? It was just as wrong as what I said to her!"

"That doesn't mean that you should have said that!"

"Look Matthew, you're not in charge of me! You don't get to tell me what I can and can't say."

Matthew's patience reached its limit, and the usually calm Earth Adept slammed his fist into Tyrell's face.

"You can't do that! I'm the leader in combat Tyrell, and we will all die if we aren't unified! So I can't have you two arguing that much! If you have a problem with Karis then bring it up to me, don't you dare start shouting at her again!" Matthew bellowed at the Mars Adept.

Tyrell stopped, Matthew's words were actually doing something.

"I'm… I'm sorry Matthew, I didn't mean it, I was just so mad!" Tyrell curled his hand into a fist and hit his leg in frustration.

"I forgive you, but I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." Matthew said, putting a hand on Tyrell's shoulder.

"I can't face her, not now." Tyrell said, looking down.

"You're going to have to eventually." Matthew said.

"I know, just not now." Tyrell said.

"Fine, but first thing in the morning." Matthew said, walking over to his room.

Tyrell nodded and followed Matthew to their room. He had more apologizing that he had to do.

"And Matt, thanks for being my friend, I know I can be a stupid idiot sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Matthew asked with disbelief.

"Idiot!" Tyrell said, rolling his eyes, he had been angry enough today.

Tyrell lifted himself onto his bunk and quickly went to sleep, tomorrow would probably be eventful.

XXX-The Next Morning.

Tyrell woke up slightly early, knowing that he was going to have to talk to Karis before the actual journey started.

Tyrell scooted out of his room and knocked on Karis' door.

She answered quick. "What?" She was using her angry voice, which scared Tyrell.

"I wanted to apologize." Tyrell looked down and kicked his legs around on the ground. "I was out of line, and I'm… sorry."

Karis looked at Tyrell for a moment as if expecting something more.

"I understand." Karis turned around and slammed the door shut in Tyrell's face, quite literally. Tyrell's nose stung.

Tyrell shrugged and went back to his room and packed up what was left of his stuff.

The teenagers left the inn promptly, and continued south towards Harapa.

Tyrell tried to start up a conversation, but Karis ignored him, and when she started a conversation, it was with Matthew. Tyrell was surprised, he thought that Karis had forgiven him. Apparently not.

"Karis, hang on a moment, why do you keep ignoring me?" Tyrell asked as he quit walking.

Karis gave Tyrell a look that said it all. She was angry, and annoyed that he would even look at her, let alone actually talk to her. It was as though Tyrell's existence was the most bothersome thing on the planet.

"Because Tyrell," She used his name deplorably. "I said I understand, and I do. You were mad, but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna forgive you. I don't want to talk to you Tyrell, ever again." With that, Karis turned back to Matthew and continued their conversation.

Tyrell was stunned, he had no idea just how much he had hurt Karis, although he now knew that he hurt her far more than ever before. Matthew turned back to Tyrell and shrugged. Tyrell was completely shocked, he didn't know that Karis could get that mad. Tyrell stood there for a few minutes and then walked forward after his friends, or actually, his best friend and ex-best friend.

Meanwhile, Karis and Matthew were speaking about love lives.

"Would you date me?" Karis asked, actually quite curious about his answer.

Matthew froze for a second, and then Karis remembered. Matthew had Sveta. Their very souls had merged. For Matthew to date anyone else would be a pervasion of what he and Sveta had experienced.

"I have Sveta, Karis; but I know for a fact that there a many other men who would be gracious to even touch your hand." The Earth Adept answered, his words carefully chosen.

"Emkay, I was just curious. Anyway, who were you referring to?" She asked, as though she didn't have a single worry.

Matthew stopped, he knew of at least one person who liked Karis very much, but he had given his word to that person to not speak of their infatuation. "Like… Baghi." Matthew said, it was a lie as far as Matthew knew.

"Really?" Karis asked, very surprised, she didn't know Baghi that well.

"Yeah." Matthew lied. "Of course he would." Matthew said.

"But Matthew, I don't like Baghi like that… I like other people…" Karis admitted.

"Like who?" Matthew questioned.

"I don't want to say." Karis said, blushing slightly.

"Is it… Rief?" Matthew asked.

"Are you kidding me Matthew, I have more self respect than that!" Karis reprimanded angrily. It was quite rude, but Karis thought it was okay, Rief was the nerdiest in the group. Although, Karis once had a dream where she went to the beach because she was upset and Rief came and there was a fight with a troll, and well, Rief had made out with Karis. It had actually been a very nice dream, very good indeed. Karis thought back to it and smiled, it had been fun.

Matthew smirked. She was regaining her spark again.

"Okay, what about Eoleo?" Matthew asked, trying to pep her up.

"Eoleo is way too old for me, besides he's a perv. He 'accidentally' walked in on me like five times." Karis said with finger quotes.

Matthew exploded in laughter, Eoleo would definitely do something like that.

"Well then, what about…" Karis' eyes seemed to pop up, as if anticipating the next name. "…Kraden?" Matthew asked jokingly.

Karis' mouth opened wide and she outright slapped Matthew. "NEVER! He's way too much of a smart***. Besides, he's an even bigger perv than Eoleo!"

Matthew jerked back in surprise, he didn't know that Kraden was a perv. "What did he do?"

"He came in when I was in the shower and took my undergarments when I was bathing."

Matthew laughed real loudly at that. He had never known that side of Kraden.

Apparently, Kraden had more balls than Matthew had given him credit before. Of course, Matthew would never say that to Karis.

"Okay, then you pick someone. Who do you want to date?" Matthew asked, pointing at her with a smirk.

"Hmmm, what about Amiti?" Karis asked.

"I could see you with him." Matthew admitted. That was true, though Matthew wasn't sure how much else of the truth he would be able to say.

During their journey to stop the Grave Eclipse, Amiti had admitted to Matthew that he was highly infatuated with Karis.

Amiti had been a little embarrassed to admit it too. Previously, the women of Ayuthay flocked to him. He never had to say that he actually liked someone to have them loving on him. In fact, he could have anyone in all of Ayuthay; they all loved Amiti. Amiti had only admitted it to Matthew because he needed advice in order to woo Karis. Unfortunately for Amiti, Matthew had very little advice.

"Do you think he would ask me out?" Karis asked slowly.

"Maybe." Matthew said, not wanting to admit anything. It was also a conversation killer, and Karis changed topics quickly.

Xxx

It only took another day of traveling to reach Harapa; where they spent a night. The following morning, the trio of Adepts went south to the beaches where they saw a beautiful white ship.

At the top of the vessel was a young man with bright blue hair, wearing magnificent gold and blue armor. He was waving his arms high in the air, shouting for his friends.

Tyrell, Karis and Matthew all shouted together. "AMITI!"

_**Author's Notes:**_ holy goodness! Karis isn't going to instantly forgive Tyrell? WHAT! Just a note real quick. Originally, this was a spiritshipping story, but then as I was planning it, the Sparkshipping became larger and larger, so I made Tyrell and Karis a bit more main character moments, and have Matthew as the next most important. What I'm trying to say, is that this fic has Tyrell and Karis in it, but it also has a buttload of other characters too, and they will all get there own moments and shipping.

Also guys, I have a sorta serious question, did Tyrell and Karis' fight work correctly? As in, did it make sense and seem at least semi logical? I'd really like to know how ya'll thought I did on the fight, THAKS!

Anyway… so guys, next chapter, StormShipping! Well at least to some extent. Also guys, if you get confused on anything at all please let me know, and I'll message you about it. Oh, guys also, I totally referenced Shoreline, a fic by Anti-viper, he is a great author, and ya'll should definitely read his stories!

_**Nothing**_ –I'm sorry that I made you depressed, it makes me feel bad. I'm sorry, but I didn't exactly understand what you were trying to say. What exactly was it that Mia did? I remember the whole see-through lighthouse with the tree representing Garet's life, but what did you want me to do with that? Also, I just edited the ending of Mask of Pain. (Now Karst was supposedly killed, slightly different, but the consequences are… well actually I guess you'll have to wait and see. =). Anyway, thanks for review, it means a bunch, and please, keep up the suggestions.

Okay that's all, thanks again everyone for reading!


	4. Romance, On a Boat!

Chapter 3: Romance, (On a Boat!)

Amiti smiled as he saw his closest friends approaching. The last time he had seen them was almost two years ago, after the Grave Eclipse had ended. The Ayuthan prince was especially happy to see Matthew, his confidant. Matthew was the one person that Amiti trusted enough to confide his true feelings in. During the Grave Eclipse, Amiti had taken Matthew aside and explained his feelings for Karis. Matthew had listened, (he was good at that) and tried to give some advice. Amiti had appreciated the advice, though the Venus Adept wasn't the best at it.

Amiti heard his friends cry out his name, making him smile even more.

Amiti waved at the trio of Adepts. "My friends!" He announced, genuinely happy that his friends were here. "Come aboard."

Amiti ran to the gangway and opened the railing so his friends could come aboard. Amiti smile increased as the group came aboard. The king hugged each Adept as they came up. Amiti flushed slightly as he hugged Karis.

"How have you been, all of you?" Amiti asked, taking a step back.

Amiti thought that he saw Tyrell look at Karis, but he ignored it.

"We've been good." Matthew said, filling the void. "What of yourself?"

"I have been good as well; Ayuthay has been prosperous, as you can probably tell." Amiti said, motioning around the ship.

"Yeah, this ship looks good!" Tyrell said, glancing around.

Amiti laughed at Tyrell's bluntness. "Yes, Captain Piers helped with the design. Apparently this is similar to Lemuria's ships."

"Yes it is." Karis said, sliding her hand along the rail. "It's quite beautiful as well. I like the small adjustments you made." Karis smiled at Amiti.

"Here, let me show you to your rooms." Amiti said, motioning for Karis, Matthew and Tyrell to follow.

Amiti lead his allies down into the stomach of the vessel and down several halls until he arrived at their rooms. "Tyrell and Matthew, you two go in this room." Amiti said, motioning to his right. "And Karis your room is here." Amiti motioned to his left.

"Thanks Amiti." Karis said sweetly, as she went into her room.

Tyrell and Matthew both nodded in thanks, and proceeded towards their room.

"Oh, Matthew; would you mind speaking with me for a moment?" Amiti asked just before the Venus Adept reached his room.

Matthew nodded. "Sure, just let me put my back-pack in here."

Amiti tilted his head forward, and then took a step back. A moment later, Matthew came back.

"What did you want to talk about?" The golden haired hero asked.

"Come this way. I don't want Karis to hear us." Amiti said in a hushed tone.

Matthew smiled; it was funny to see Amiti so worried. "Sure, where to?"

"My room. Come on." Amiti motioned for Matthew to follow, and turned around.

The Adepts walked down the hall until they reached a door at the end. Amiti quickly walked through and sat down, Matthew close behind. Just as Matthew walked through the door, the ship lurched, causing him to stumble and fall.

"Are you okay?" Amiti asked, helping the Venus Adept up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What was that?" Matthew asked.

"The ship, we just pushed off from Harapa." Amiti answered as he settled back into his seat.

Matthew nodded and sat in another of Amiti's chairs. "So what did you want to talk about?" Matthew asked.

Amiti looked down a bit, then smirked. "Karis." He said simply.

"What about her?" Matthew asked.

"Well, you know that I like her. I was wondering if now would be a good time to ask her out."

Matthew was surprised. Amiti was generally slow to do things, taking into account all actions and reactions, this was… unlike him. Unless he had been planning for the last two years. Yeah, that sounded a lot more like him.

"Well, she just had a massive fight with Tyrell, so I don't know if she'd want a relationship…" Matthew stopped for a moment. Amiti was looking down, sad and nervous. "But." Amiti looked up instantly fixated on Matthew. "But, you should still try. She doesn't know that you're open to her, and asking her to dinner would be a great way of doing that."

Amiti opened his eyes widely, that actually made a lot of sense! "Thank you Matthew. I will go do that right now." Amiti said elegantly.

Matthew stood up and followed Amiti out. Amiti continued down the hall to Karis room and knocked softly. Behind him, Matthew entered his own room.

"Just a moment." Karis' soft voice spoke.

Amiti smiled to himself. This will be good. A few moments later, Karis came and opened the door.

"Oh, hey Amiti. What's up?" Karis asked, leaning against the door.

"Hi Karis." Amiti started. "I was wondering if you would join me for dinner tonight?" Amiti asked.

"Oh, when are we having dinner?" Karis asked.

Amiti froze for a second, and a thousand thoughts entered his head. _What if she doesn't like me? What if she's just trying to be nice? What if she thinks I'm an idiot?_ Amiti had nine-hundred and ninety seven other similarly worded thoughts.

"The crew is having dinner in an half an hour. But Karis, I was wondering if you would have dinner with me, in an hour?" Amiti explained, pointing to him and then her.

"Oh, well…" Amiti could tell that she was thinking about it, and bit his lip in anticipation. "Sure, I'd love to." Karis said, smiling. "Thanks Amiti."

Amiti grinned cheek to cheek. "I'll see you soon Karis, thank you."

Karis smiled one more time and then closed her door.

As soon as the door shut Amiti pumped his fist into the air and bellowed. "YES!"

_-Fifty-Five Minutes later_

Karis smiled as she slipped on a jacket over her red dress. Karis had brought the dress from Kalay because of the extravagant parties that were sure to take place. Karis had made sure to pack it carefully. The dress was very beautiful, and very expensive, so Karis really didn't want to ruin it. The jacket was something that belonged to Karis' mother before she died. It fit Karis perfectly, and looked marvelous.

Karis checked her mirror one more time, and then left her room. Karis made her way down the hall and then lightly knocked on Amiti's door. A moment later, Amiti opened the door and welcomed Karis inside.

"Karis, please come in and have a seat. Dinner will be ready in a moment." Amiti said, taking Karis' hand and leading her to her seat.

Karis smiled politely, Amiti was such a gentlemen. "Thank you Amiti."

Amiti quickly went to his own seat, opposite Karis. "You look beautiful Karis." Amiti said kindly.

Karis blushed slightly. "You don't look so bad yourself, Amiti. I especially like your shirt."

Karis was referring to Amiti's golden-red shirt. It was odd, since Ayuthay was normally associated with blue, but seemed rather fitting for Amiti. It set him apart from the late King Paithos. It was also a symbol to other nations. It was saying that Amiti was not afraid to change Ayuthay's traditions. Or maybe Karis was just reading too much into it. After all, it was just a shirt.

Amiti leaned forward. "Thanks Karis, I had it made for the Angaran Peace Conclave. I'm glad you like it."

As Amiti finished speaking, the door to his room opened widely, and two waiters and a chef entered the room, along with several carts of ingredients. The waiters came over to Karis, and then Amiti and poured some wine in one cup, and water in another. Meanwhile, the chef pulled away the top part of a cart off, revealing a mobile grill. The chef began tossing some coals in and starting a contained fire.

Karis wanted to watch the chef more, but also didn't want to ignore the king in the room, so she turned towards Amiti.

"So Amiti, what are your plans for the Peace Conclave, if you don't mind me asking?" Karis questioned politely.

Amiti smiled as he returned his attention to his guest. "I'm hoping for improved relations with Sana and Kaocho. Perhaps even Bilibin if I'm lucky." Amiti chuckled lightly.

"Is Ayuthay on bad terms with Sana? I would have thought Ryu Kou would have been more convincing to his uncle."

"He tried, and it isn't that I am on bad terms with them, it's just that we aren't on allied terms. Similar to how Angara doesn't pay much attention to say, Hesperia."

Karis nodded in understanding. "What do you think of Kalay?"

"Hmm." Amiti wondered briefly. "Well, Ayuthay does trade with Kalay to some extent, I would call us associates. If say, Kalay entered a war with Bilibin, I may help, but only if it would benefit me. However, if Morgal entered a war with Bilibin I would help immediately. Does this make sense?"

Karis appreciated his honesty. Amiti knew that Karis was from Kalay, which would incentivize him to lie. But he didn't and that was admirable. "Yes. I believe that Kalay believes the same. Honestly, the only ally that we would consider helping in a war would be Sana."

Amiti laughed. "That's why Kalay is so powerful. It only becomes allies with the strongest of nations."

A flame surged behind the couple, causing them to turn to the chef. He was cooking rice, vegetables, shrimp, and Mahi-Mahi. The chef threw his utensils in the air and caught them gracefully, then proceeded to cut up the shrimp at an incredulous speed. Smoke floated into the air, and gave the room a fantastic smell. After a few more moments of watching the chef cook, Amiti and Karis turned back to each other and the conversation.

"What do you think Kaocho will do about the Conclave?" Karis asked.

Amiti frowned. "I don't know, Karis, I wish that I did. They'll come, that I'm sure of. But I don't know if they will declare war, or what."

Karis also frowned. "Well, is Baghi coming?" She asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Yes. He's going to meet us there though, he is going to cross to Morgal and go with Sveta." Amiti said.

"Do the two of you still talk often?"

"Less and less. But since I'm king now, and Baghi has become the leader of Passaj there really isn't much we can do about. We still exchange letters though." Amiti answered.

"Speaking of being a king, what kinda perks do you get?" Karis asked.

Amiti smiled once more. "Well, I get to eat whatever I want, do whatever I want, though not whenever I want to, which sucks the joy out of it quite a bit. Honestly Karis, it's a lot of responsibility, and it's my own fault that the only qualified person for the job is dead." Amiti said, looking down in sadness.

Karis reached her hand across the table and grabbed Amiti's clenched fist. "Amiti, whatever anyone says, it is not your fault. You did everything that you could. Don't feel guilty for it."

Amiti looked up and smiled. "Thank you Karis." He spoke softly

They stayed that was for several minutes, holding hands and just looking into each other's eyes. In fact, the only reason that they let go was that the chef came with their fancy seafood dishes. As they ate, they laughed, reminisced, and just generally had fun. They kept talking for hours until Karis realized that it was quite late and she needed sleep.

Karis stood up and began walking towards the door, Amiti following behind. Karis walked through his door, and then stopped and turned back to him.

"Amiti, I've been feeling bad because of this stupid fight I had earlier this week, and you brought me out of that mood tonight."

Karis leaned in, and kissed Amiti on the lips. Amiti returned the kiss with just as much passion. But the kiss was brief, and Karis parted quickly. "Thank you." She said softly.

Karis turned around and walked back to her room, her heart beating frantically with excitement. As soon as she made it into her room she slid to the floor and touched her lips. _We kissed,_ she thought. _And it was amazing…_

_**Author's Notes:**_ First off, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it. You know, this chapter was supposed to have some other stuff in it, but I really like how it ended up. Originally, there was supposed to be some 'Karis ignoring Tyrell', but it really wasn't necessary. It would actually make more sense that they don't talk in this chapter. So, the main plot kinda stalls a little bit until the groups reach Yamata City, (which they reach in about five chapters) thought the Sparkshipping subplot stays mightily on track. If there are any Tyrell fans, sorry that he's hardly in this chapter, but he'll feature a lot in the next few chapters! Finally, what did you guys like or dislike about this chapter, please let me know I'd like to know what I can do well and what I can improve on. Anyway, thanks for reading!

_Next chapter of Sparks and Sacrifice: Reckoning_


	5. Reckoning

Chapter 4: Reckoning

Nearly a week had passed, and the ship was just about to reach Champa for supplies. And, it had been one of the worst weeks of Tyrell's life. Which was saying something considering that Tyrell had spent a week in the far north of Angara literally sleeping on ice. Tyrell had been forced to watch as Karis and Amiti created a relationship. Tyrell had been there as they started dating, and had been forced to eat dinner with them, (along with Matthew) as they held hands across the table. It had been infuriating! And to top it all off, Karis still wasn't talking to him.

Tyrell had been talking with the Ayuthan captain, when Karis and Amiti had decided to take a walk on the deck. Amiti even had the gall to wave to Tyrell. The Mars Adept was beginning to want to smash in Amiti's face; and that was a feeling Tyrell only got when he was infuriated beyond belief. It had only happened three times in his life. Once when he burnt down Patcher's Place, once when Matthew was beating down near the beginning of their journey; and once when Karis was nearly killed by the Mountain Roc. Tyrell was nearing the point where he would lash out.

Tyrell had even been in the hall, having been going to grab a piece of bread earlier that week, when he saw Karis kiss Amiti. That was when Tyrell's anger had begun to boil. It had begun to steam, when Tyrell saw Amiti feeding Karis lovingly. Tyrell became a living inferno of fury when Amiti had cooked dinner for Karis. Now, Tyrell was just trying to stay away from them. Tyrell honestly didn't want to lose control of himself. He didn't want to disappoint Karis further. And he desperately didn't want to lose another of his closest friends.

"Matthew, I need to talk to you." Tyrell said, entering his and Matthew's shared room.

"What's up?" Matthew asked, turning around.

"Seeing Amiti and Karis together has been pissing me off, a lot." Tyrell told him, hoping that Matthew would understand.

"They'll break up eventually." Matthew said, barely looking up.

Tyrell sighed and looked down. "Matthew, I'm reaching my boiling point."

'Boiling Point' was a code that Matthew and Tyrell had developed and used ever since Tyrell had burned down Patcher's Place. It told Matthew that Tyrell was going to lose control of himself, and soon. When Karis had been hurt, and Tyrell reached his boiling point; it was Matthew who had directed Tyrell to attack the Mountain Roc. Tyrell was very grateful for the code, as it explained his predicament in as few words as possible.

"Oh Crap." Matthew said, raising his head with a worried look. "Stay here; I'll go talk to them."

"Thanks Matt, I really do appreciate it." Tyrell said as he walked inside and lay onto his bed.

Tyrell closed his eyes and rested for one whole minute. Then he got bored. The Mars Adept stood up and started pacing. This quickly turned tedious, so Tyrell sat back down and began tossing a small ball of fire between his hands. Tyrell's boredom ended for a bit with this game, and each time it started up again, he added another fireball. Ten minutes later, Tyrell nearly caused a massive fire as he dropped nineteen fireballs. Luckily, being a masterful Mars Adept, he was able to absorb the fire quickly, leaving burn marks in their place.

Tyrell sighed heavily and went back to lying down. Tyrell's eyes fluttered and he fell asleep a few moments later. Making all those balls of fire had tired him out.

_ -Elsewhere_

Matthew knocked on Amiti's door, and tapped his foot, waiting for him to answer. The Venus Adept had already tried Karis' door, and there had been no answer. A full minute later Amiti opened the door. Amiti was shirtless, which surprised Matthew just enough that his eyes opened wide for brief moment, before resuming their usual appearance.

"Amiti I need to talk to you and Karis, is she in here?" Matthew said as he attempted to peer into Amiti's room.

"Of course." Amiti said, opening the door wide and beckoning Matthew inside. "And yes, she is here."

Matthew followed Amiti inside and saw Karis sitting on the couch, she smiled and waved when she saw the Venus Adept. Matthew sat down on a chair opposite the couch. Meanwhile Amiti walked over to the blue and black couch and sat next to Karis, stretching his arm over her shoulder and pulling her close.

"What do you want Matthew?" Karis asked politely.

Matthew looked down and thought for a moment. He needed to communicate that the couple shouldn't have any public display of affection around Tyrell. The challenge was that Matthew had to say that without speaking of Tyrell's feelings for Karis; which might mean hurting their feelings a bit. Matthew put his hands together and composed his words.

"You guys have been all over each other all week, and it's starting to annoy people." It was an honest and truthful statement, and it even protected Tyrell.

Amiti and Karis both separated quickly. "Who is it annoying exactly?" Karis asked.

Matthew was sure; absolutely sure, that if he said Tyrell, then she would continue her and Amiti's public display of affection. "Me, Tyrell, Maro the captain…" Matthew ended his answer specifically so that it sounded like he had more names he could list. And once again, it was a truthful statement. Karis and Amiti were in constant contact, and it was annoying Matthew a little bit. Not much, but enough. And, Maro had complained earlier about Amiti always being with Karis, and therefore preventing some of his work.

"I didn't know. I'm so sorry Matthew, I'll make sure not to touch Karis in public again." Amiti said sincerely.

Which, made Matthew feel guilty. The couple had just started dating, they wanted to map out the borders, which was completely reasonable. Because of his guilt, Matthew didn't just stand up and leave like he really wanted too.

"Well, it isn't too bad, some probably think it's cute. Just make sure not to do it in front of us." Matthew said, leaning forward.

Karis smiled. "Thanks Matthew. We'll be careful who we kiss around."

"That's all I can ask for." Matthew said, standing up.

Amiti stood and walked Matthew out, gently shutting the door behind the Venus Adept.

Matthew walked back towards his room slowly, not particularly in any hurry. After gazing at the passing Angaran landscape, Matthew finally went below deck again and went to their room.

Matthew unlocked his door easily enough. Within the chamber, Matthew noted several burn marks on the floor, about twenty in all. Matthew then moved his observing to the slumbering red behemoth on a bed nearby. Matthew laughed quietly to himself. Tyrell must have knocked out all of his Psynergy.

"Tyrell wake up." Matthew commanded, shaking the sleeping giant.

"Huh? What is it?" The yawning champion asked.

"I talked with Amiti and Karis. They agreed to not do anything around you, or me… or Captain Maro."

"Captain Maro?" Tyrell asked.

"Yeah, he wasn't too fond of their PDA." Matthew replied with a smirk.

"Thanks for doing this man. I really appreciate it. Like a lot." Tyrell said, sitting up and clasping Matthew's shoulder tightly.

"It's no problem Tyrell. I don't particularly want to be on a burning ship in the middle of the ocean." Matthew joked with a smile.

Tyrell laughed. "It's okay, it'll just take a few days, but the boil should go down."

"Good."

-_Three Days Later_

Tyrell left his cabin and walked towards the galley. The masculine Mars Adept hungered for food, and he would have it. Tyrell glanced across the sea, and saw that the ship was headed towards Champa, probably for more supplies. Tyrell had barely seen Karis and Amiti together since Matthew had talked to them about it, and he was glad for it. His boiling point was subsiding, and Tyrell was returning to normal.

Tyrell entered into the galley, and took a loaf of bread, a large steak, and a jug of milk. Tyrell then proceeded to tear through it all within three minutes. After completing his meal, Tyrell began to make his way back to his cabin, only to bump into Captain Maro.

"Sorry mister." Tyrell apologized, stepping aside.

"Sir Tyrell, can you help me?" Captain Maro asked.

"With what?" Tyrell turned back to the captain.

"My watcher at the top of the crow's nest got sick last night, and is resting. Would you mind covering for him?" Maro asked.

Tyrell shrugged, he had nothing better to do. "Sure."

"Thank you. Just climb up that ladder." Maro said, pointing to the rope ladder nearby.

Tyrell turned and began climbing up the ladder. Tyrell clutched the ropes tightly as he started swinging wildly in the wind. It was a little frightening. Tyrell could pretty easily fall down and die if he landed correctly. And that would suck, a lot. Tyrell eventually finished his ascent, and slipped into the small and cramped crow's nest.

Tyrell was quite high up from here, probably fifty feet or so. It was daunting, but also powerful. Seeing Angara from this height was beautiful. Tyrell smiled at the sight, and leaned back in his nest. He didn't have any real job; just make sure that the ship didn't hit another ship or an iceberg of some sort. Tyrell closed his eyes as the wind swept across his face, it was relaxing, so very relaxing…

_Six hours later, at Dusk_

Tyrellawoke slowly, his senses coming back to him. The Mars Adept stood up from his position and felt the wind howl across him. It was then that Tyrell remembered what he was supposed to be doing. Tyrell looked around and saw that the ship was in port, not sailing around. Tyrell rested his arms on the railing of the nest. After a few moments, he began to climb down.

As he climbed down, Tyrell heard some laughter. After much squinting, Tyrell was able to make out some green hair, and some blue too. Tyrell's eyes opened wide: Amiti and Karis were here! Unsure of what to do, Tyrell slowed his descent. Tyrell continued to watch, but only heard occasional laughter. The wind was too powerful for Tyrell to hear the couple, so Tyrell crept lower on the ladder until he realized that he was a mere foot above the ground. At which point, he dropped onto the floor. Fortunately for Tyrell, the setting sun made it difficult to see him.

For the first time, Tyrell could see clearly. Before him, Karis and Amiti were lying in a pile of… ropes? Tyrell couldn't quite tell. Tyrell's eyes opened wide, as Amiti and Karis stopped laughing, and leaned in. Soon Amiti and Karis kissed. The kiss developed quickly and soon enough they were full on making out. Amiti had everything that Tyrell wanted; and Tyrell hated Amiti for it.

"NOO!" Tyrell screeched.

Karis and Amiti bolted apart, but Tyrell didn't care. The giant behemoth ran forward, and went to punch Amiti, but the watery king was quick, and rolled out of the way. Karis leapt to her right, and Amiti flipped to the left, barely dodging Tyrell's strike.

"Tyrell clam down!" Karis yelled.

"I'm sorry that you caught us kissing, but it shouldn't mak-" Amiti was interrupted as Tyrell smacked the king in the head.

Amiti stuttered back and blinked a few times, the blow was unexpected.

"Tyrell! Why did you do that?" Karis asked.

Tyrell didn't answer. He didn't want to. That would mean a talk, and right now, Tyrell did **not** want to talk. Tyrell rushed forward to punch Amiti again, but this time Amiti ducked and pushed Tyrell away.

"Fight me!" Tyrell screamed.

"No, you're my friend!" Amiti yelled back.

"Fight me you blasted idiot!"

"Why?"

Tyrell didn't want to get into it, so he threw another punch. Amiti ducked again, but Tyrell kicked hard, striking Amiti's ribs, and knocked the air out of him. Amiti rolled to his right, and out of immediate harm.

"Why does seeing us together piss you off so much?" Amiti screamed back.

"Because you…" _stole Karis from me. _Tyrell stopped himself from saying that and mentally smacked himself. Tyrell couldn't say that, not after what had happened between him and Karis before.

So instead of speaking, Tyrell ran forward and threw another punch. The Mars Adept plunged his fist into Amiti's stomach. Amiti fell to the floor and coughed out a little bit of blood. Tyrell grabbed Amiti by the front of his shirt and held him up.

"Why?" Amiti muttered.

"Because you took her from me." Tyrell whispered. Despite speaking quietly, Tyrell was sure that Karis heard him.

Tyrell raised his fist to strike Amiti a final time, only to be tackled to the ground by someone. Tyrell tried to see who had knocked him down, but lost consciousness a moment later as a fist struck his skull.

_-On the Ayuthan Vessel_

Matthew stood up after knocking out Tyrell. The Mars Adept had reached far and beyond his boiling point. In fact, by the time Matthew had reached the deck, a little smoke had been pouring out of Tyrell's ears. Come to think of it, Tyrell's head had been very hot.

"I'm so sorry about that Amiti." Matthew said, reaching a hand down to help the king up. "Are you okay?"

Amiti smiled slightly as Matthew helped him up. "Thanks to you."

Matthew nodded and turned to Karis. "Are you okay?"

Karis nodded solemnly.

"Good. I'm going to take this guy to his room, then how about some dinner?" Matthew suggested.

The couple both nodded, so Matthew began dragging Tyrell away. Matthew wondered what had triggered Tyrell's boiling point, but decided not to focus on it. Besides, Tyrell would tell Matthew when he needed to know. Matthew opened the door to his room, and yanked Tyrell inside. Afterwards, Matthew left to rejoin Karis and Amiti for dinner.

Matthew entered into the dining room and sat next to Amiti, though Karis was nowhere to be found. From what Matthew could tell, dinner had not yet been served; though he could smell a delightful aroma coming from the galley.

"Amiti, I just want to let you know that Tyrell doesn't hate you. He just…" Matthew leaned in close and whispered, "Has feelings for Karis."

Matthew didn't want to tell Amiti about Tyrell's feelings; but Amiti deserved to know. After all, Tyrell had attacked the elegant king.

Amiti nodded. "Yes he implied that."

"Oh, does she know?" Matthew asked quietly, out of Karis' ear shot.

Amiti nodded. "I believe she heard his words."

"Are you okay Amiti?" Matthew asked.

Amiti smiled. "Only my pride is wounded, a simple Ply healed my injuries. I should have been able to dodge all of his blows. I must be getting sloppy." Amiti answered absent mindedly.

Matthew smiled. "Actually, you're probably about as strong as you were before. Tyrell's been training since we got back to Lookout Cabin. Plus, he got these enchanted boots on the way back that increase his agility."

"Oh, well that's good to hear." As Amiti spoke, a green haired Adept walked into the dining room smiling. "Karis, over here."

Matthew released a held breath. He was quite worried that Karis or Amiti would be upset with Tyrell. Amiti appeared to understand Tyrell's emotions, and Karis seemed to not react to it, which was good.

"Your Royal Highness, your food is ready." A crewman announced to Amiti.

"Come, let's eat." Amiti stood and Matthew and Karis followed him.

The Trio of Adepts stood and took their food; whereupon they ate, laughed, and talked for hours, enjoying their time together, but knowing it may not last. When Matthew had finished his dinner, and has his fill of wine and witty banter, he left.

Matthew walked droopily across the deck. Outside of the ship, Matthew could see Champa, and sailors coming and going with supplies. Apparently the Ayuthans had used up more than they had intended to.

The city was growing. While it had been devastated by the Grave Eclipse, the city had developed substantially. There were now buildings ranging from the small camp used during the Grave Eclipse, all the way to the original mountain city. The dock had even been renovated, it could now hold three ships of massive size, and several smaller ones too. It was quite impressive. For all his tales, lies and jokes, Eoleo was proving to be a great leader.

Matthew sighed and went down into the ship. Matthew took a few turns and walked down his hallway to his room. He really did need to check up on Tyrell. _Gotta make sure he's okay_… Matthew thought absent mindedly. He opened the door to the shared room and looked inside. What he saw made his eyes widen, heart skip a beat, and basically sent a shock throughout his system.

Tyrell was gone.

_**Author's Note:**_ Tyrell's gone? Oh no! Where could he have gone? Anyway, Thank you all for your reviews and feedback, if ya'll keep up at this rate, then this'll be my biggest story yet! Also, next chapter is likely to be short, and since this story is getting more reviews and popularity, I'm going to try to switch my updating schedule to SaS (This fic) one week, and Terminus War the next week, then SaS again, etc. Hopefully that'll work. So, whoever guesses what happens in the next chapter will get a shout out in that chapter! Anyway, if you guys have any questions, comments, or criticism, please feel free to let me know! Thanks for reading!


	6. Lost in a City of Vice

This is an edited version, as the previous version was not characterized very well. I apologize.

Chapter 5: Lost in a City of Vice

Tyrell was pissed. Pissed at Karis for ignoring him. Pissed at Amiti for not being angry. Pissed at himself for exploding at them. Pissed at Matthew for not being there. Pissed at Maro for asking for help. Tyrell was simply pissed off at everything and everyone. Coincidentally, smoke was rising off his bare arms and ears, as if an aura of darkness were following him.

But, despite his anger, Tyrell was able to exert some amount of control over himself. He had left the ship for instance. Tyrell knew that if he stayed, he'd end up doing something else that might actually be unforgivable: like really hurting Amiti. Tyrell also knew that Eoleo was somewhere in Champa. The Adept was walking around aimlessly, hoping to find somebody who could tell him where Eoleo was at.

Garet's son glanced over at a nearby bar. He walked up to the window showcasing the place, and revealing that it was more than a bar. Far more.

Tyrell could see several waitresses who were very scantily clad. One of those waitresses had faint green hair, instantly making Tyrell think of Karis. Tyrell watched for a little while, as the green haired women bent low to pick up some trash. The Adept was forced to look away. Otherwise he would have a very large and embarrassing problem to come.

Tyrell kept walking, but tripped over something. He fell to the ground and looked down seeing that he had smashed right into a bench. Except, it was covered by trash, completely. Which was why Tyrell hadn't seen it. The Adept stood back up and looked around, his eyes now opened from his experience. There was trash everywhere! Piled up around doors and windows, where it seemed people just threw it onto the streets. Tyrell shuddered at the thought.

"Hey big guy. Wanna good time? Or maybe some practice before the big date tonight?"

Tyrell turned around highly confused, only to see a woman before him. Correct that, a scantily clad, big breasted woman before him. Her skirt hung so low on her waist that Tyrell thought he could actually see some hair. In addition, her shirt was incredibly tight, but hung low on her chest; Tyrell could practically see her entire body.

"No, no thank you." Tyrell said, closing his eyes and turning around.

"Hang on a minute baby. I'll let you try out the merchandise." The hooker said, unbuttoning her shirt, and tossing it onto Tyrell's back.

Tyrell stopped. He really didn't want to do this. It would be wrong, and Karis would be disappointed in him. Then again, Karis was already mad at him. It couldn't get much worse, could it? But still, some people, namely Matthew, had some faith in the Mars Adept. And they would be disappointed to. So Tyrell decided to play the hero a bit longer.

He turned around and opened up his coin-purse, taking out fifteen gold coins-worth about 200 normal coins. But before he could even give the hooker the money, she was on him. She locked lips with the Mars Adept, and pressed herself against his chest. Tyrell just barely managed to push her back.

"Ew. Here, take this and get a real job." Tyrell said, handing her the coins.

The hooker's eyes grew big, and she covered herself up, and stared at the coins. "Thank you so much baby!" She woman shouted, hugging Tyrell closely. "With this much money, I can take care of my baby!"

Tyrell smiled. "You're welcome." Then, the Mars Adept realized that she was still holding onto him. Tightly, and she was still topless too. "Anyway, bye." Tyrell sprinted away in a hurry, hoping no one would notice his predicament.

He finally stopped at a random alley, and sat down for a bit, deciding that he would wait for it to go away, then he could continue on his way. Tyrell leaned back and relaxed for a moment. But, he thought he saw something move to his right. Then he heard a moan. Tyrell gazed deeper into the alley, then he made out the sight: a woman 'comforting' a man. In complete daylight.

Tyrell stood up and sprinted away, this was not helping his problem at all. He sprinted far away from this side of Champa, eventually reaching the opposite end. By that time, his problem had subsided, and he could speak to people again. Unfortunately, he was also more lost than ever.

He walked down the streets for a bit, taking turns left and right, but not knowing where to go. Tyrell sighed as he came to another dead end. The Mars Adept didn't want to keep walking, so he leaned against the wall and slid to the ground to take a short break.

"Hey you, fatty. Give us all your money, and we'll leave you alone." The Burliest of the men said, he was obviously the leader too.

"You don't recognize me?" Tyrell asked, standing up and crossing his arms.

"Why should we? You're just a fat kid. And if you're in Champa that means you're rich too." The man replied.

Tyrell was angry. And now, he had a way to express that anger. However, despite his rage, he was still a hero.

"I'll give you one chance to go away." Tyrell placed a hand on the Darksword, to emphasize the point.

"Ha! You probably just carry that around for fun don't you? No way that you know how to use it." The man said, pointing with his axe at Tyrell.

"Wanna bet?" Tyrell asked, leaning against a wall.

The leader frowned and sprinted forward and, swung his axe down to strike the Mars Adept. Tyrell easily side-stepped and struck the leader in the back of the head with the blunt of Tyrell's sword. The man fell to the ground unconscious. Tyrell smiled at how easy it was to defeat him, before turning back towards the remaining two.

One of the muggers, a large man with a scar across his eye, was charging with an axe. Tyrell jumped back to dodge, then coated his arm in flames and punched Scar-face, knocking the man to the ground, and burning his head.

Scar-face stood back up slowly, and threw his axe at Tyrell, who expertly dodged the attack. Then, the Mars Adept jumped forward and smashed his elbow into Scar-face's nose. The blow shattered the bones and knocked Scar-face unconscious.

Tyrell turned to the last man, a terrible shaker, and gave him an angry gaze. "Boo." Tyrell said, juking forward and causing the shaker to sprint away, dropping his mace.

Tyrell laughed a little. These men were so stupid. None of them could beat him. Tyrell walked over to the unconscious bodies and dragged them further into the alley. Finding a nice trash bin, Tyrell picked up each one and dumped their unconscious bodies into the bin. The Adept made sure to put them in an incredibly awkward position just for giggles later.

Tyrell decided that because he had expended that much energy, he was entitled to some sweets. So, he walked out of the alley, and over to a merchant's stand. The Mars Adept took out his coinpurse and tossed the merchant several gold coins, before taking a rather large lollypop. The hungry man proceeded to gulp down the entire candy stick in one large bite.

Tyrell continued wandering aimlessly around the port area of Champa, hoping to find Eoleo. After another hour of wandering, Tyrell gave up and wandered into a bar. It was small and quant, but Tyrell didn't really mind. Peace and quiet sounded nice at the moment. Tyrell went up to the bartender, and ordered a beer, gulping it down quickly. Tyrell ordered a second beer as a stranger took the seat next to the Mars Adept.

"Hello." The stranger said with a distinct male voice.

Tyrell turned and faced him, but was unable to see the outsider's face. It and the rest of his body were obscured by a large cloak that fell all the way to the floor.

"Who the heck are you?" Tyrell asked, taking a swig of beer.

"An informant for now."

"What kind of informant?"

"The kind who can tell you where you want to go."

"And where is that?" Tyrell asked.

"Eoleo's ship is just about to leave from the old Champan Camp on the beach. If you hurry, you could make it." The informant answered.

Tyrell gave the informant an odd look, but then left, tossing several coins onto the table.

"That was too easy." The informant said, once Tyrell had left. The Master would be proud.

-_The Champa Camp_

It had taken three hours to reach the camp, but it was worth it. Before Tyrell was the beautiful ship from the original journey. It was better than before, with new sails and paint. Tyrell approached it with awe. The last time he'd seen it was almost two years ago. Tyrell walked up to the boarding plank, and made his way aboard.

Immediately upon reaching the deck, he saw his old friend Eoleo. "Eoleo!" Tyrell called out, waving.

The red haired giant turned around and shot a large smile at his ally. "Is that Tyrell?" He asked, squinting.

Tyrell nodded. "Yeah it's me! I was hoping you could give me a lift to the summit, you know if you don't mind." Tyrell scratched his head, realizing this was sort of a big favor. An extra passenger meant less food and room for everyone else.

"That's a big favor lad." Eoleo said, crossing his arms. "I thought you were going with Amiti."

Tyrell gulped. He'd have to explain the full story. "Well, you see Eoleo. I've had a crush on Karis for years…"

Eoleo nodded. "I noticed, you were always staring at her booty."

Tyrell swallowed, deeply embarrassed. "Well, she and Amiti started dating, and they're always together… and I just can't stand it."

"Fight for her lad." Eoleo replied.

Tyrell scratched his head again. "I kind of already did… That's why I'm not going with Amiti."

Eoleo laughed loudly. "Well, you obviously didn't have me with ya. You can come aboard, and when we reach Yamata, I'm going to help you get her back."

Tyrell smiled. "Thanks Eoleo. I appreciate it."

"Anytime lad. But I got to warn you, you'll have to work on the way over. You'll get to party too, but that's for another day." Eoleo said, extending his hand out to Tyrell.

The Younger Mars Adept smiled and took Eoleo's hand. "That's fine with me."

"Well then, Welcome Aboard!"

_**Author's Notes: **_I'm BACK! But not for long =( So, the title of this chapter, comes from the muggers mugging Tyrell. Tyrell getting lost. And that no one even says anything about Tyrell drinking bear! Most towns would say something, but this is a viceful city, so it doesn't. Also, you know the hookers and brothels. Anyway, looks like Tyrell will be heading off with Eoleo and co. Next Chapter will deal with Tyrell's role on the ship, a pirate party, and a shift back to Karis and her thoughts. By the way guys, sorry that this chapter is so short. But I've got my whole outline thing going, and this is what happened in this chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. It should, but well yeah. Also, a little self-promotion: I posted a oneshot called Nightmares that is a Dawn Shipping story. Anyway, thanks for reading guys. Question guys, at the moment, I don't have a shipping partner for Eoleo, can ya'll think of one?

Thank you so much to all the reviews! I really appreciate them, and they are a great incentive to write! Oh, and here's some review responses:

_**Anon Dude**_: Eventually, coughchapter16cough there will be a Matt-Sveta kissing scene, but of course they'll be interrupted. There might be another one, but so far that's all that is planned.

_**anti-viper**_: I would respond to your reviews , as I am greatful for them, but I have already done that in PM. Hehe, thanks again.


	7. Thoughts and Dreams

_**Chapter 6: Thoughts and Dreams**_

Tyrell rolled out of his bed groggily and sloppily put on his boots and overcoat. It was early, far too early in Tyrell's opinion, but he had to help Eoleo, and since no one wanted to get up this early, Tyrell was elected to do it. Tyrell slowly made his way up to the top of the deck where he was handed a mop and bucket filled with soapy water. Drearily, and without being fully awake, the Mars Adept began cleaning the wooden deck. He was making slow progress, but Tyrell didn't care; it'd get done when it got done.

After two hours of swamping the deck, Tyrell had finally finished, and just in time for the sun to come up. Tyrell turned and smiled at the Radiant Dawn that escaped from the edge of Weyard. It was beautiful, and reminded Tyrell of the Dawns that he had seen during the Grave Eclipse. Though they had been few and far between, the Dawns had perfectly symbolized what the Children of Vale were fighting for.

Tyrell sighed and began walking down to the galley to grab some food only to be stopped by one of Eoleo's pirates.

"Not so fast Cabin Boy." The pirate had a patch over his right eye, and lacked hair of any sort; something quite rare for a man of Weyard. "The sails need to be released."

Tyrell knew that realized that Patch here was trying to shrug off his own work to Tyrell, but the Mars Adept didn't want to make enemies on his first day aboard.

"Yeah ok." Tyrell turned around and went to the side of the ship.

Tyrell had learned to set up the sails of the ship during the Grave Eclipse. Eoleo had been running a skeleton crew, so Tyrell, Amiti, Matthew and even Rief and the girls had learned how to set up sails, anchor the ship, and steer. But Patch didn't know that.

Tyrell grinned as he began to climb up the rope ladder. As the Mars Adept climbed up, powerful gusts of wind waded through his hair and cloths. If not for his natural warmth, Tyrell was sure that he would have been chilled by the air. When he reached the top of the rope ladder, Tyrell pulled himself up and onto the small platform at the top.

Before him was a ladder leading directly up into the Crow's Nest, but that wasn't where Tyrell needed to go. Instead, the Fire Adept carefully walked on the beam that supported the sails. Tyrell had to move slowly in order to avoid falling off, but it wasn't too bad, which was surprising, considering Tyrell's normal clumsiness.

Once Tyrell reached the first knot that secured the sail, he bent down and untied it, letting the sail begin its' way down. Then, he continued further down the beam and reached the next knot. Repeating the process, Tyrell untied the knot and let the sail down. With this sail done, Tyrell carefully climbed back and then went up further to release the second sail.

Once again repeating his early process, Tyrell eventually let down the sail. As he made his way down, Tyrell paused to admire the beauty of the Dawn, and feel the wind travel through his hair. It reminded him of Karis. Tyrell dropped his head and descended the rest of the way in sadness.

When Tyrell reached the deck, Patch was nowhere to be seen. Tyrell rolled his eyes and walked into the galley and got some breakfast biscuits. Tyrell went to grab three, but the cook hit Tyrell's hand.

"Newcomers get one." The Cook snapped quickly.

Tyrell sighed and took his one biscuit to a table near the back of the galley. Sitting down, Tyrell took a gorged himself on the biscuit, finishing it in a mere ten seconds; partly because it tasted like tree-bark mixed with mud, and partly because it was so small. The Mars Adept sighed again, highly disappointed in the quality and quantity of the food.

Once he had completed his breakfast, the Mars Adept stood and walked topside of the ship hoping to find something to do.

"Aye, you with the straight hair, come ere!" Shouted a grizzled old voice.

Tyrell looked to the voice and connected it with an older pirate with a long white ponytail and beard. The Adept jogged over to the pirate quickly, sense he had nothing better to do.

"What do you need?" Tyrell asked.

"The ole mermaid needs some cleaning, and you're going ta do it."

Tyrell sighed as he realized today would be a long, hard and frankly, terrible day. It made him wonder why he had even left Amiti's ship anyway…

_-Amiti's Ship_

Karis sighed as she watched the sun rise up over the edge of Weyard and slowly ascend into the sky in a Radiant Dawn. She had worried for Tyrell a bit; despite how angry she was with him. At least, she was sort of angry with him. Especially after he had punched and hurt Amiti. Karis should have been angry at him. But she wasn't. And she didn't understand why she wasn't angry.

Karis blinked as the sun fled behind the clouds, giving a glorious haze of light upon the ocean. After the Grave Eclipse, Karis had grown to appreciate the Dawn. Karis turned from her balcony and walked back into her room. Slipping out of her nightgown, Karis went to her dresser and selected her usual outfit.

Once she was dressed, the Jupiter Adept went topside in order to feel the wind flowing through her hair. It was pleasant, and Karis appreciated the solitude. After a few minutes of the wind-flow, Karis retreated back towards the galley in order to get some breakfast for the rest of the day.

Selecting two eggs and some bacon, Karis ate quickly at a table with Captain Maro. The man was fairly quiet, but Karis trusted and respected him. Apparently he was a journeyman of sailing, having been taught by the legendary Captain Piers. Karis didn't know how much of that was true though; Piers worked with almost the exact same crew for the past thirty years, only three had left his service. Three more had died and been replaced, but still; no one would leave the best of the best.

Karis didn't think the man was lying. After all, it was the crew that spread the rumors, and believing that Maro had been trained by the best would be comforting to say the least. Karis kept up pleasantries, and small talk, but soon enough the captain had to leave. Luckily, just as Maro left, Amiti showed up with his own tray of food.

He carried his personal favorites: Biscuits coated with gravy, several strips of bacon, and a southern Hesperian dish known as a 'taquito'; it was egg and sausage wrapped in a thin piece of bread, Karis hadn't heard of it before.

Since she wanted to be kind and polite, Karis stayed with Amiti as he ate. While he ate quickly, they talked. Mostly small talk, nothing relationship changing or anything close to that. They talked about the food, Captain Maro, even Matthew and Sveta a bit; but nothing major. It bothered Karis to some extent, but now wasn't the time or place for a relationship-talk conversation. Instead, she put her hand on top of Amiti's and smiled as she listened to him talk about a funny story involving Himi and Rief.

She laughed at the parts that were funny, and sighed when they weren't.

"Karis, are you alright? You don't seem like your usual self this morning." Amiti asked tenderly.

"I'm fine." Karis replied with a yawn. "I just feel a bit off, I'll get over it." Karis answered with a reassuring smile.

Amiti nodded. "Just remember, we're in a relationship now, you can tell me whatever you want."

In her head, Karis said _That goes both ways Amiti_. But instead of reply like that, she nodded. "I know." It was true. She knew that she could tell Amiti anything. It was just that… he didn't tell her anything, and that was bothering the Jupiter Adept. Normally she wouldn't be annoyed by that, and it was confounding her.

Amiti smiled at the beautiful Jupiter Adept. "Well, I need to go attend to the bridge. I'll see you later." Amiti leaned in and pecked Karis on the cheek. "Get some rest, you're bound to need it."

Karis smiled. "I will, see you later." She waved as he stood up and walked away.

Karis stood up from her seat at the table and decided to take Amiti's advice. A nice little cat-nap sounded, well for lack of a better word, nice. After reaching her room, Karis saw her balcony and thought of a wonderful idea. Grabbing a quilt from the closet, Karis walked out onto the balcony and curled up in one of the chairs. Soon enough, the Jupiter Adept fell into a pleasant little sleep.

_It was nice, Karis reflected, as she smiled at the children before her. The boy, with his mothers' trademark green hair, was as fragile as he was cute; but he was a quick one. They had discovered that he was a Jupiter Adept shortly after he turned one. The boy began summoning powerful winds to flow throughout the house. It had frightened Karis for a bit. But that was primarily due to her daughter._

_Her daughter, a sarcastic joker with infinite endurance now, had once been a fragile baby. The slightest fly on her leg would scare the poor little girl. But eventually, she learned to incinerate them, which ceased Karis' worries about her daughters' fragility. As her hair grew longer, the child grew stronger. Her hair was just like her fathers' a beautifully fierce red color now. Wait a second, Red? _Shouldn't it be blue?_ Karis thought bewilderedly. _

_Karis sat up from her place on the couch and looked around the room. The father was nowhere to be scene. _

"_What are you doing mommy?" The boy asked. Despite instantly knowing their ages (6 and 5), Karis could not remember their names. _

"_Looking for your daddy." Karis replied sweetly. "Amiti?" _

"_Uncle Amiti isn't here mommy." The little girl said. "Dad is outside though."_

_Karis' eyes widened, and a terrible feeling entered her stomach. Karis slowly made her way through the door and into the backyard. Standing there, working on a treehouse was Garet, Tyrell, Matthew and Isaac._

"_Hey Wife, What to lift me my axe?" Tyrell asked with a smile._

_Karis fell back to the ground as the shock hit her. Her boyfriend, one of her closest friends ever wasn't her husband. Instead, the cocky brute who Karis refused to acknowledge was married to her! And the father of her children! Which meant that they had… _

_Karis screamed wildly, and Tyrell came running to her; jumping off of the tree he was on and at her side with ten seconds. _

"_What's wrong, are you hurt?" Tyrell asked worriedly. _

_Karis face simply got more confused as she realized that he didn't hate her. He didn't hate her. HE __didn't__ hate her! Karis leaned forward into his shoulder, and felt tears escape her eyes. _

_This place was so perfect. She had had a future! A future with a loving man who cared for her. And children who were beautiful and kind! A community of friends! And she had thrown it away! Why? Because he had pushed her! She had torn apart the Warriors of Vale because Tyrell had pushed her! Karis cried into Tyrell's shoulder as the consequences of her mistake, her grave mistake, hit her full force._

Karis sat up in her bed, fresh tears still on her face. Karis sat there for a while, unmoving. She understood, no. She was beginning to understand what had happened. And it was her fault. She had escalated the argument. Played his anger. Set him up to hurt her. Karis felt a few new tears converge on her cheek.

After a long time of crying, Karis got up to see Matthew. He was always so wise. He always knew what to do. _Probably why he's the leader _the Jupiter Adept thought.Karis was surprised when she saw that it was dusk: she had slept most of the day away. Karis shrugged off the surprise and continued down to Matthew's cabin, knocking on his door and waiting for him to answer.

It didn't take long.

"Karis? I thought you were sick. What's going on?" He asked caringly.

Karis smiled faintly while pressing her fingers together lightly. "I was feeling a bit under the weather. I was hoping I could talk to you."

"Sure. Come on in." Matthew stepped back and gestured for Karis to enter.

Karis kept her faint smile up as she came inside and sat on his couch.

"So, what's going on?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"I… I messed up." Karis revealed, before plunging her face into her hands.

"And?" Matthew asked unflinching.

"And?" Karis asked, surprised at his curt response.

"I already knew you messed up Karis. Tyrell did too, but he's facing the consequences of it. You haven't." Matthew answered.

Karis was taken aback from Matthew's response. It hadn't occurred to her that Tyrell was paying for their fight that wasn't even entirely his fault.

"I-… I'm sorry Matthew. I was just so, so, so Mad! He pushed me, beat up Amiti and, and and, called me a monster. I was just angry. I don't know why I said that to him." Karis felt several tears stream down her face. "I wish I hadn't done that. If I could go back in time and change that, I would."

"I know you're sorry Karis. I know you're upset and I know that you're hurt. But I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." Matthew said calmly. Slowly he walked over to Karis and sat next to her, reaching his arm over her shoulders and pulling her close. Karis stayed there like that for a while, not want to move at all.

"So you'll talk to him?" Matthew asked several minutes later.

Karis nodded. "I'll talk to him when we get to Yamata." A few minutes later she spoke again. "Matthew will you do me a favor and keep this between me and you?"

"Like, not telling Amiti?" Matthew asked.

Karis nodded in response.

"Ok, I won't tell him."

Karis smiled as Matthew slowly rubbed her back and held her.

_-Eoleo's Ship_

Tyrell groaned as he finished his last task: dumping out and then cleaning the bathroom. It had taken a couple hours. It had smelt terrible, and sucked. But Tyrell had done it. After all, Eoleo had said to help out.

Tyrell put the poop bucket back in its' place and then burned every germ off of his clothes and skin; utilizing his Mars Psynergy to do so. It went quickly, so Tyrell walked around to the dining room. Tyrell had heard a few of the pirates mentioning a party that was going to be happening; so Tyrell thought he'd drop by.

Tyrell entered the dining room and was surprised to see it filled with pirates. Ten were dancing while three women were up on a stage singing. Eoleo was at the bar with two scantily clad woman around his arms.

"Tyrell!" Eoleo shouted. "Glad you could make it, come on over ere." He said gesturing.

Tyrell obliged and walked over to Eoleo. The child of Vale smiled at his ally. "What's going on Eoleo?" Tyrell asked.

"Living it up! Ere, ave a drink!" Eoleo bellowed, sliding Tyrell a cup of… something. Eoleo laughed when Tyrell didn't drink it. "It's not poison boy, just tasty!"

Tyrell smiled and took a gulp of the – "Darn that's good stuff." Tyrell said before taking another huge gulp.

Maybe, just maybe, this boat-ride wouldn't be as bad as he had thought it would be.

**Author's Notes: **Well, this one came out faster than expected. I didn't think I'd have another chapter till June or July. But I'm mostly free of school, so I don't have anything keeping me from writing. As always, I heavily appreciate reviews and feedback. And I hope you enjoyed it.

Next time, on Sparks of Sacrifice: The last chapter before the Arrival. Tyrell is going to enter into an arm-wrestling match, which'll be interesting to say the least. Thanks for Reading, I hope you review!


	8. The Pirate Party

Chapter 7: The Pirate Party

"You okay there boy?" Asked a voice to Tyrell.

Tyrell sat up from his previous position: sprawled out on the floor. He had had quite a few bottles of beer; each one he took reminded him less and less of Kar- NO! He couldn't think of her. It hurt too bad for that. Eventually, he'd tried to get out of his chair and had instead fallen out, slamming into the ground and sprawling out in a drastic daze.

"I'm just a bit… dizzy." Tyrell muttered drearily.

The voice, obviously female, laughed. "Must be the first time you've gotten drunk."

"Yeah, I think it is. Gimme a minute." Tyrell said as he sat on the ground and focused himself.

"Here drink this." The woman said, handing him a hard clay bowl.

"No thanks lady. I've had enough drinks for one night." Tyrell said.

"Don't worry this will sober you up. I made it for Eoleo, but you need it more." The woman replied.

"Oh, ok. Thank you… um. What's your name?" Tyrell asked, then gulped down the antidote.

"Abigail." The woman replied. "You're Eoleo's friend Tyrell correct?"

Tyrell nodded. "Yeah." His vision finally cleared up and the Mars Adept got his first good look at Abigail.

She was absolutely beautiful. Flowing long blond hair that reached just past her shoulders. Her eyes were blue and kind. Her face was beyond beautiful, one of the prettiest faces he'd ever seen. The only girl prettier was Kari- NO! No thinking of her. The only girl prettier was his old friend.

Anyway, Abigail was wearing a blue shirt and black pants. The shirt was strapless, as though Abigail was wrapped in a blue blanket, yet somehow it worked perfectly. The blue shirt didn't cover that much on her chest; she was a pirate after all. The shirt didn't reach her belly button, and showed a fair amount of cleavage.

"You're beautiful." Tyrell said, wide-eyed. He shook his head crazily as soon as he said it. The alcohol probably wasn't all the way out of his system.

Abigail smiled. "My eyes are up here Tyrell."

Tyrell blushed a little as he realized he was staring at her breasts. "Sorry." He apologized, scratching his head.

"It's ok. You're the first to apologize for it. Most give out some sly pick up line that they think will bed me." Abigail replied bluntly.

Tyrell blushed more as he had thought of doing just that. "Awesome…" Not knowing what to say, Tyrell finally stood up and looked around. The party was still going on, even more so than before. At least four dozen were down in the ship dancing or drinking or arm-wrestling. The ship must have been running a skeleton crew to compensate.

"So how does a beautiful woman like yourself end up on a ship like this?" Tyrell asked as he turned to face Abigail.

She snorted. "Smooth. But I'll play along. I'm Champan to put it frankly. And when you go to Champa, you can be one of five professions: Prostitute, Wife, Cook, Maid or Pirate. I picked Pirate. It serves me well. I get to see the world and live it. Plus the company isn't that bad. Most of them stopped the pickup lines once I became the first mate."

"You're the first mate?" Tyrell asked, astonished.

Abigail nodded. "Yeah, Eoleo needed a new one after Brigg's died. (Because Eoleo used to be the first mate.) Anyway, I had Obaba's support, and I am actually a good pirate you know, so yeah, I got picked."

"That's awesome!" Tyrell exclaimed, giving Abigail a high five. "So did you grow up in Champa?"

Abigail nodded. "It was beautiful, back when I was a child. Briggs had brought prosperity. We we're powerful and wealthy. Now because of Ayuthay and Yamata our trade has declined by a lot. That's why Champa's so corrupt these days. I hate it." Abigail explained.

"We're you friends with Eoleo when he was growing up?" Tyrell asked, sitting at a table nearby and motioning for Abigail to join him.

"No I wasn't I'm only twenty-eight, so Eoleo was four when I was born. I had other friends when I grew up, but I did occasionally get to hang out with Eoleo. Our parents were friends. He was the first boy I kissed." Abigail noted reminiscently.

Tyrell smiled. "First girl I kissed was Karis." Tyrell stopped abruptly as painful memories of his friend flew to mind. It hurt him, physically and emotionally.

Abigail seemed to notice it. "I'm sorry." She said, laying her hand on his.

"It's ok. I'm trying to get over it." Tyrell replied as he forced thoughts of her out of his mind.

"Whatever happened between you guys?" Tyrell asked, changing the subject.

Abigail smiled faintly. "He left to serve with Briggs. It was just a one-time thing. We weren't dating. That didn't happen for a few years."

"So you two did date?" Tyrell asked.

"Eventually." Abigail admitted.

"And…?" Tyrell asked, waving for her to continue.

Abigail smiled. "Well he came back one day after a big battle, it was the first time I'd seen him in at least two years, maybe more. Anyway, I was seventeen at the time, and he was twenty one. He got really drunk and I helped him up to his room. He tried to sleep with me, but I told him that I deserved at least dinner first, and managed to get him to agree. So we started dating, we were taking it slow, but then he was called away to help out Briggs more. We had agreed to wait, so I waited for him. A year later he came back engaged to some whore from Sana. I got pissed." Abigail explained.

"Understandably." Tyrell nodded.

"Yeah, so we argued a lot. And well, things happened. We fought. I had flexibility, but he had reach." Abigail admitted.

Tyrell was surprised. "So you two did it together?" He asked.

Abigail nodded. "Yeah, but then we broke up and he left. I haven't had a good conversation with him since then." Abigail paused and looked at Eoleo off in the distance singing drunkishly. "I miss him sometimes. I don't get why, but I do."

Tyrell smiled. "He's a great guy."

Abigail snorted. "He's a terrible guy, that's why Obaba supports me."

"What?"

"Obaba supports me for whenever Eoleo makes a stupid decision I put him in his place." Abigail replied.

"Ohh. So tell me more about Champa." Tyrell requested….

The conversations continued on like that for several hours. Tyrell and Abigail explained each others histories, and their feelings for Eoleo and Karis respectively. Abigail and Karis were quite similar, as were Tyrell and Eoleo, probably because they we're both Mars Adepts.

"Hey Abigail, what's going on over there?" Tyrell asked, gesturing to a group of men huddled up.

"They're arranging the arm wrestling tournament." Abigail replied.

"What's that?" Tyrell asked.

"It's a tournament that we do at every party. Everyone antis a prize of some sort in order to enter, and then everyone is matched up in a tournament. The winner gets all of the prizes."

"That's cool, can I join?" Tyrell asked.

"Yeah, I'll go with you."

"Thanks." Tyrell replied as he and Abigail stood up and walked to the men.

"Hey ******* me and Tyrell want in." Abigail stated bluntly.

The men looked at eachother and shrugged. "What's your anti?" an older pirate asked.

Tyrell spoke up first. "I'll do your duties for tomorrow."

"Accepted." The old pirate answered. "And you Abigail?"

"I'll give my shirt to the winner." Abigail shrugged.

"Accepted." The old man smiled.

Tyrell looked at Abigail questioningly.

She shrugged. "That way I don't lose anything."

"Shouldn't you be I don't know, ashamed?" Tyrell asked.

"Why would I be ashamed of these?" Abigail asked, placing her hands on her breasts and looking down at them.

"No, no. Of being topless." Tyrell further explained.

"Oh, meh. I lost any pride I had whenever we crashed in Tundaria and I had to stay warm by stuffing myself into a sleeping bag with four other men, naked."

Tyrell looked at her questioningly. "Look Tyrell. You won't understand Tundaria until you GO to Tundaria."

Tyrell nodded. "Ok."

"What're you two waiting on? Come over here!" Shouted the old pirate.

Tyrell jogged over to the tables that had been set up for the tournament; noting that Eoleo was playing as well. The son of Garet sat at his table and turned to face his opponent: the old pirate that had arranged the tournament.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" Shouted an announcer.

Tyrell laced hands with the man and almost instantly managed to bring the man's hand to the table.

"Winner!" Shouted the announcer at Tyrell's table.

Tyrell turned to look and saw that Eoleo was the only other person who had already finished. The old man grumbled and handed Tyrell a bag of coins that was apparently his anti. Tyrell waited for the others to finish, which only took a few minutes.

The Mars Adept turned to face his next opponent. The man was young, and incredibly buff, probably buff enough to supplement Tyrell's Adept advantage. When the round started, Tyrell struggled for a minute, before finally managing to push the man's hand to the table, winning. The young man sighed and unsheathed a dagger with a sapphire gem in it, and took out a Psynergy crystal, the man's antis. Tyrell nodded in thanks as the man walked away.

Tyrell glanced around as the last match of the round ended. Both Eoleo and Abigail were still in the match, though not facing each other.

"Semi-Final Round: Tyrell vs. Abigail. Eoleo vs. Kamor." Tyrell was surprised that he was facing Abigail, and mentally decided to take it easy on her. "3, 2, 1, BEGIN!" Shouted the Referee.

The arm-wrestling began, and Tyrell only used a portion of his strength. He was surprised, as Abigail nearly managed to win. At the last moment, Tyrell managed to stop his hand from hitting the table.

"Try." Abigail commanded, therefore Tyrell obliged.

With gargantuan strength, Tyrell raised his hand up and brought it over to the other side of the table before finally pressing her hand against the table, winning. Tyrell looked at Abigail as she leaned forward and tossed him a book that only Kraden could appreciate, and another bag of coins. Finally, Abigail took off her shirt and handed it to Tyrell, leaving herself bare-chested.

Abigail leaned into Tyrell and whispered in his ear. "Take Eoleo down for me."

Tyrell smiled and nodded. Tyrell stood and walked over to where Eoleo was sitting.

"Tyrell! Good, that means a good match. Anyway, before we begin, I just want to thank you."

"For what?" Tyrell asked, surprised.

"The view, I only get to see Abigail like that whenever the ship 'crashes' in Tundaria." Eoleo smiled and used air-quotes when he said crashes, implying that it was not an accident.

Tyrell rolled his eyes. "You got a real good one Eoleo. Hold on to her."

Eoleo just smiled. "Let's play the game."

Tyrell nodded, and for the final time, the announced counted off. Tyrell was met with ferocious strength, and slowly his arm was moved back. The Adept watched as his hand sunk so low that he was sure that he would lose. And yet for some reason that Tyrell did not understand in the slightest, this action reminded him of someone that Tyrell was incredibly angry with: Amiti.

Raged boiled through Tyrell's blood, and anger flew into his veins. With impossible strength, Tyrell brought Eoleo's hand back up and then, with even more incredible strength, Tyrell smashed Eoleo's hand onto and through the table, breaking the wood.

"**** Tyrell! I didn't know you'd gotten so strong. Nice Work, you deserve this."

Tyrell sighed as he leaned back and received his prizes. This pirate ship really wasn't that bad after all. They had good people, and they had fun. But most of all, they were a community that loved each other, even if they did express it in odd and seemingly mean ways.

"Thanks guys." Tyrell said as he smiled.

_Author's Notes: Huh, so these Chapters are SO easy to write. I'm shocked, I wrote it in 2 hours.. Maybe it means I have Writer's Block in my other fic, oh well! Anywho, does anyone like Abigail? Because, unless she is vehemently hated she'll probably appear three ish more times. I like her, tough but beautiful, a pretty good foil for Eoleo too. Anyway, the next chapter should bring forth some actual Plot Development that I just know ya'll are waiting for :p. Thanks for Reading and Please Review! I really appreciate those, and they encourage me to write more!_

_Oh, a real quick note: I used asterisks *** in this chapter in a portion of dialogue. Whenever I put asterisks in dialogue it means that the character cursed, I just don't publish the curse words._


	9. The Arrival

Chapter 8: The Arrival

Karis laughed as Amiti finish a tale of Paithos' childhood. The late king had had several funny adventures as a young child, and had told Amiti some of those stories. Other old elders and villagers had told Amiti other bits of the tale, meaning that Amiti knew the full tale.

Karis leaned against Amiti's shoulder and closed her eyes. As the waiter took away her plate of spaghetti, an Attekan delicacy.

"Thank you for this, Amiti." Karis said as she opened her eyes and looked out a port window.

"Anything for you Karis." Amiti replied with a smile as he reached over and began rubbing Karis' arm.

They were alone in his room now. The waiters had taken the plates and utensils and just about all cooking related items and removed them from the King's room. It was a beautiful room, blue painted walls with two golden paintings hung on the walls.

Karis pecked Amiti in the check, and the King smiled. Amiti turned his head, and Karis kissed him again, this time on the lips and with more passion. Eventually, Karis turned almost the whole way and took his head in her hands, rubbing his neck as they kissed. In response, Amiti carefully began rubbing his hand up and down her back.

Karis enjoyed it. Making you was, for lack of a better word, fun. And yet, unlike some of her other kisses, this was different. But Karis couldn't pinpoint how exactly. It was something more than her previous adolescent kisses. This meant something.

Karis could build a future with Amiti. She could become a queen! She could have beautiful children with blue or green hair. Maybe even a mix. She wouldn't have to work, she would be rich, have a beautiful husband, great kids and awesome community. And yet, Karis wasn't even sure she wanted that. But that was getting ahead of herself.

They had been dating for what, A week, two? Sure they had traveled together for six or so months, during which she got to know him better. But knowing a person as a friend, and knowing them as a boyfriend were completely different things. They'd have to date for at least another month or two before they could even talk about getting mar-. _No, not getting ahead of myself again._ Karis decided.

She ended the kissing session and leaned back, Amiti still had his eyes closed.

"Karis…" he said quietly, but she could still hear him.

She smiled. "What?"

"Karis, I… I think I-"

Amiti was silenced as Karis leaned forward on top of the Water Adept, running her hand at the edge of his shirt, and then slipping it within his shirt. Gently, she caressed his chest, while continuing to kiss him. Yet, she did it to silence him. She knew what he was about to say. _I love you_. But Karis wasn't ready for that, or the heartbreak that might follow. Eventually, the Jupiter Adept leaned back off of Amiti, smiling suggestively as she did so.

"Thank you." Amiti said, staring deep into her eyes.

"Thank You? Amiti that's what men say to hookers. I'm your girlfriend, can you say something other than thank you?" Karis asked.

Amiti blushed and laughed at her words. "You look as striking as the Sol Blade."

Karis pondered those words for a moment and then shrugged. "Meh, I'll take what I can get."

The couple laughed together for a bit, but were quieted by the blowing of a horn, Amiti's captain, Maro was announcing that the ship had arrived.

Amiti smiled. "I think we'll be docking soon. You should probably find Matthew."

"Why?" Karis asked. "Can't I go there with you?"

Amiti shook his head regretfully. "Ayuthay knows nothing of us. I'm… I'm supposed to marry a Ayuthan. At the very least a noble. You… are neither. This would be the worst time for a divided Ayuthay. I wish you could stand with me, but I cannot allow it."

"We wouldn't have to hold hands or touch or anything. It'd just be me standing there with you." Karis noted.

"I'm sorry Karis. But Ayuthans are known for their insight. Even if we didn't speak they would assume something is up. Please Karis, just walk with Matthew. We can see each other later." Amiti begged.

Karis sighed regretfully. "Fine. I'll go find Matthew."

With mild annoyance, the Jupiter Adept rose from her position on the couch, straightened up her hair and clothes, and then left Amiti's room to find probably her oldest friend in the entire world of Weyard.

-The Top Deck

Matthew gazed upon the extravagant city ahead of him.

Yamata had grown exuberantly in the past two years. Increasingly better relations with the other countries of Angara led to increasingly better profits. Profits, that were apparently leading to an even more beautiful city.

The city spouted numerous homes and buildings, high walls that guarded it from outside attack, and guard towers that kept an alert watch for newcomers. Its' rice fields were now in the distance, away from the main city itself. In addition, many other crops were being grown in the distance. However, most beautiful of all was the new dock that had been built.

It was built to house dozens of ships, and it did. Each of the docking areas either held a ship, or could hold a ship. A market had been established within the dock, and a parade was going on. In addition, the Yamatan army was there to, probably ensuring the safety of all the royalty that was due to arrive. Close to a dozen leaders or kings were arriving, and the dock was celebrating just that.

In the distance, Matthew could see the castle. Before, it had been surrounded with wooden sticks that provided mild protection. Now those wooden sticks had been replaced with a stone base, followed by huge pillars of wood and stone that closely guarded the palace; which had been built to even higher heights. Numerous balconies dotted the palace, and a courtyard had been built as well. In the back, Matthew could see that the gates opened a little to allow the beach to come in: A perfect resting point for tourists, and a spot just big enough for a royally quick escape.

"Matthew!" Shouted a voice coming from the Venus Adept's left.

The hero turned and saw his friend Karis jogging up to him.

"Hey." He said gently, with a wave to her.

"Are you excited?" She asked, squeezing his arm slightly.

"Look at this place." Matthew said, motioning to the huge city. "How could I not be excited?"

Karis chuckled and smiled. "Come on. It's time to go get off."

Matthew nodded and followed behind Karis, their backpacks fastened securely. The duo walked up to the gangway and waited. Amiti and his entourage needed to go first. As the most important people on the vessel, Amiti and Maro exited, followed by a contingent of followers and servants and one or two guards. Behind them, Karis and Matthew walked onto the gangway and stood in line to get off.

Amiti and Maro made their way down. Both were dressed in their formal attire. Amiti in particular wore a bright blue and gold tunic and the golden crown of Ayuthay. He had gems embedded In the seams of his tunic, and two swords attached to his belt. Maro wore a blue and white formal uniform, he held a cutlass at his side, ready for any action.

Matthew and Karis finally made their way down the gangway and onto the dry lands of Yamata. The city was crowded, filled with thousands. Near all were clapping joyously at the arrival of the Ayuthans and Adepts. This conclave could bring about peace to Angara. Unifying it, possibly under one banner. If that happened, the conclave could maybe grow. Perhaps a conclave of continents instead of countries.

Matthew didn't know. But he knew that it held promise, and nothing could disrupt that.

Matthew glanced to the right and saw that in addition to the arriving Ayuthans, Champan Pirat, er sailors, were arriving as well.

In fact, it looked like one of the sailors, a beautiful woman, was exchanging words with Maro. Forceful words it appeared. But then, red hair caught Matthew's eye and he saw Tyrell standing behind the pretty lady.

Matthew began to walk towards the talking parties, when Maro drew his sword, clashing it against the beautiful woman's own cutlass…

_-Thirty Minutes Ago, Eoleo's Vessel_

Tyrell sighed as Abigail woke him up. "What, *yawn, is it?" Tyrell asked wearily. He had been dreaming of a storm where he got to second base with Karis in the crow's nest, when he was awoken.

"We're arriving soon. Get dressed and get up top." The beautiful vixen commanded.

Tyrell nodded and stood up. He stretched for a bit, before slipping on his shirt and pulling on his pants. Finally he grabbed his Darksword and back pack containing his gear and made his way up to the top deck.

Tyrell looked at the Yamatan landscape, and noted his beauty, but he quickly became bored and looked around. Eoleo was in the back. As according to what Tyrell had heard mentioned the night before. The first mate went first to keep people in line. Then the lowest crew members all the way to the captain, in this case Eoleo, as a show of might.

Tyrell skipped through the lines and lines until he reached Abigail at the front. Since he was the newest member of the crew, Tyrell figured he was also the lowest.

"Finally you're here." Abigail muttered.

"I was just looking around. Why're you so upset?" Tyrell asked. She was being snappy, at least, more snappy than usual.

"Champa needs to look perfectly strong, or else we look week." Abigail replied.

Tyrell nodded. "Sorry then."

"It's fine." Abigail said. "You're here now."

Tyrell nodded and faced the docks ahead. They were new, probably never used before at all. The Mars Adept noticed that Amiti's ship had already docked, and was disembarking now. As opposed to the Champans. Amiti exited first.

Tyrell rolled his eyes and watched before him as the ship docked and Abigail took her first step on the gangway. The Mars Adept followed behind closely, beginning the march of pirates. However, they were soon stopped as the two marching parties met.

Maro was at the front, and took a step forward, cutting off Abigail form her intended path.

"Watch where you're going!" She shouted at him.

"Watch yourself, wouldn't want you to get hurt." Maro replied. Yet, he said it with such venom that is was obviously a threat.

And yet, Abigail didn't crack. She was smart, Tyrell realized. She knew when to keep her mouth shut. In this case, shouting could lead to war.

Abigail took another step forward, but so did Maro, he bumped into. Well, bumped was putting it lightly. He shouldered her, making Abigail stumble backwards, barely catching herself.

"Okay that's it! I'm not taking anymore ******** from you!" Abigail shouted, standing up and pushing back Maro.

"Don't touch me!" Maro bellowed, knocking away Abigail's hands.

"Don't push me you frickin scum bag." Abigail snorted.

Maro's eyes narrowed at the insult. "You are the scum bag that the pirates keep around just so they can look at you."

Abigail's fist was so tight that Tyrell thought she would start bleeding. "Abigail." The Mars Adept said. "Come on he's not worth it."

Abigail opened up her hand and turned to walk away when Maro spoke once more.

"Whore."

Abigail turned around and put her hand on her sword. "What did you call me?"

"Whore." Maro repeated to her face.

Instantly, Abigail unsheathed her cutlass and swung at Maro. Surprisingly enough he was quite agile (probably expecting the blow), and blocked it with his own blade. Abigail swung again, this time at the hilt of Maro's blade, striking it, and causing him to stumble to the side.

"Help." Maro said quickly.

Almost instantly, ten Ayuthan Sailors unsheathed their weapons and approached Tyrell and Abigail. In response, ten Champans Pirat- Sailors took out their weapons and stood just behind Abigail, waiting for the next moment of attack.

Maro stared down Abigail with ferocious, piercing eyes. Abigail returned the gaze with one filled of anger. Abigail raised her cutlass, and let out a shout of power. Maro's eyes narrowed further, and he pointed his own blade at the beautiful woman. Abigail rushed forward to strike, when the strike was blocked by the staff of… Kraden?

Yes, Kraden was there, blocking the blow with his wooden staff.

"This is a conclave for Angaran peace, and you start that off with a fight?" Kraden's voice was hard, strong and scariest of all, angry.

Tyrell had never seen the crafty sage angry. Annoyed sure, but angry? Never.

"We are here to discuss peace. Captain Maro as a disciple of Piers, you disappoint me." Kraden stated bluntly. "Champan control your anger, or the consequences will effect far more than yourself."

Maro bowed deeply, obviously knowing who Kraden was, probably from his times with Piers. Abigail was startled by the old man's statements and looked like she was about to start shouting at him too, when Eoleo put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Listen to him Abigail. This is a time for peace, not anger." Eoleo wisely said.

Before them, Kraden nodded. "Ayuthay arrived first so they shall proceed. Good to see you again Eoleo, and you Tyrell." The anger in the sage's voice was gone now, replaced by genuineness.

"Good to see you too, Kraden." Tyrell replied.

Eoleo nodded in answer. "I have to get back to the back. We'll talk later."

Kraden nodded and then turned around. "I shall get back to the palace. Good Luck Tyrell."

"With what?" Tyrell asked, but the sage didn't hear him.

Sighing, the Mars Adept watched the Ayuthans move through the streets. However, he noticed green hair in the distance. Squinting, Tyrell was able to make out Karis' beautiful form. Pointing, he whispered to Abigail.

"See that girl with the green hair down there? That's the one." Tyrell pointed out.

"The one?" She asked.

"The one that I… She's…"

"I understand." Abigail said with a coy smile. "You like her."

Tyrell chuckled slightly and then smiled. "Yeah, I do, a lot."

Tyrell and Abigail talked for another hour before the Ayuthans finally finished their parade. Then it was Champa's turn to march. It went quickly enough for Tyrell, and soon eh was at the front of the palace, where one of his old companions was situated at.

"Tyrell!" The formerly shy mage shouted.

Tyrell just smiled. "Himi, how are you?" He asked.

She had grown up a good deal. She had turned fifteen during the Grave Eclipse, and two years had passed since then, almost three; meaning that Himi was almost seventeen, and beginning to fill out her dress. She had grown up from a young quiet girl to a pretty, kind and headstrong woman. It was nice to see her evolution of adulthood.

"Wonderful now that my friends are here." The young but pretty Venus Adept replied. "Follow me, I'll take you to your room."

The Mars Adept nodded. "Thanks. You know, this place sure has gotten a lot bigger in the past couple of years."

Himi nodded as the dup walked. "Yep. Since I became friends with Ryu Kou, Eoleo, Amiti and Sveta we've had a lot more trading opportunities. Apparently, Rali wood only grows on Yamata, but I think dad said it was pretty valuable. It's what most of the walls are made of. Pretty strong stuff. It's real fun to control." Himi noted as she walked.

She had started talking a lot more after the Grave Eclipse ended. Probably Rief and Karis rubbing off on her, those were her closest friends on the ship, followed closely by Eoleo. It was actually kind of sad. Just as the adventure ended, Himi cracked out of her shell.

"Have you heard from Takeru?" Tyrell asked. Her brother had been missing during the Grave Eclipse.

Himi nodded somewhat slow and sadly. "He's sent a few letters, one for every season. I don't know how he gets them here, but he does."

The Mars Adept nodded. "Good, glad he's alright. Do you know when he'll return?" Tyrell asked as they began climbing up the stairs of a hallway.

Himi shook her head. "He never tells us where he's at or what he's doing. Just that it's important and that he's ok. He spends more time giving us advice than anything else."

"Ah, gotcha. Who else has arrived?" Tyrell asked, changing the subject, particularly since it was a sore one.

"Karis, Matthew, Kraden, Nowell, Piers, Rief, Amiti, and Sveta so far. More are coming I think." Himi replied, opening a door at the top of the stairs to a new hallway. "Oh and Baghi, Ivan and Mia got here."

Tyrell nodded. "Thanks."

"Your room is down this hall…" Himi paused as she walked past three doors. "right here." She stated, smiling. "You've got a nice balcony and tidy room. Hope it's to your liking."

Tyrell stepped into the room and was blown away. It was the perfect size. Not too huge and not too small. Black granite kept the walls and floor looking nicely, and red seemed to be the other main color. Red pillows, blankets and sheets secured the bed with luxury. A desk, drawer and nightstand were painted white and fit nicely. A fireplace settled into the wall across from the bed. Out to the side was the wash room and then finally, a balcony that provided a beautiful view of Yamata.

"It's wonderful Himi. Thank you so much." Tyrell said, stepping inside and dropping his backpack onto the chest in front of his bed.

Himi smiled. "Thanks, I better get back to the others. Good to see you Tyrell." The Venus Adept said, smiling.

Tyrell took off his shirt as Himi shut the door. He began to fill the bathtub so that he could get the grimy Champan smell off of him. As the tub filled, Tyrell took one last look on the balcony. "Yamata is breathtaking."

_-The Docks_

Emperor Wo of the warrior nation of Kaocho stepped off of his ship as he gazed upon the paradise island that was Yamata. The emperor scoffed at the city. Meisa and Kan-Shuku were awed by the city, and Wo was angered by it. No one but Kaocho should be strong. No one else DESERVED to be strong.

"It's just a show. There is no way they could have built this much that quickly."

Wo, followed by an entourage, made his way through the docks, eventually arriving at the palace and was taken to his room. It was elegant, and Wo hated Yamata for it. Kan-Shuku was surprised by the room as well, but he quickly left to find his own quarters.

"Meisa unpack for me, I need to rest." The master of Kaocho looked around for a moment, but didn't see his assistant anywhere. "Odd, she was just behind me." Wo muttered to himself.

"She must be pleasuring Kan-Shuku." The emperor said with a roll of his eyes as he took off his robe and sat onto his bed. Wo sighed as he snapped his fingers twice and his two favorite courtesans approached him.

Wo forgot about Meisa as his courtesans began their work.

What he didn't know, was that Meisa wasn't pleasuring Kan-Shuku.

_Author's Notes: I love adding in references to anti-viper's fics. I hope that doesn't make him mad, and wonder if/who will get the reference. Anywho with this chapter, the real plot starts up again after the four or five of stall. Well, I guess it was more like three. Three filler. Anyway, This chapter was bigger than most of the other chapters we've had. The biggest chapter before this was 2,900ish words I do think. This one is bigger, over three thousand. _

_I think it's very plausible that Champa and Ayuthay wouldn't get along. Seems to me that Ayuthay would be a ripe place for pirating. Plus, Maro's experience as a sailor under Piers means that he'd have a distaste for pirates because they dampen the name of sailors. Abigail doesn't take crap from anyone, so that leads to conflict. _

_Wo is someone who has a lot more potential, and he's getting it in this fic. He's going to appear more, so I hope you guys like him. Meisa is interesting, and I won't say more ;). _

_Next chapter we'll be having a ball, literally! There will also be a lot of interactions and, importantly, Matthew and Sveta will reunite! Who isn't excited for that one? So, I figure that even though I've responded in PM, I'll post the response I have to reviews here just so ya'll can learn some more. But first I want to thank both anti-viper and Grand-Lord of… for reviewing! I appreciate it!_

_Grand Lord of…: Glad that SaS is making you rethink your pairings mostly because that means SaS is good! I'd recommend putting Eoleo with an OC. It makes the most sense. I think anyway. Hou Ju won't have many appearances at all. I'm thinking one or two much later. That said I like the Himi-Rief pairing a lot, and don't want to further depress _Nothing _the reviewer who said they liked Seveneyeshipping_

_anti-viper: I'm glad you liked last chapter. I'm not sure I would know how to write drunk-Tyrell hilariously. I'm very glad you liked Abigail. AS you said, OCs are hard to make. I'm glad you liked her. She kinda has to be a powerful woman to serve on a pirate ship, otherwise she'd be a prostitute. And yeah, I knew you wanted more Champa info so there you go . I thought that part was funny, especially the Tundaria part ;) Further interactions will happen. Eventually. And for the record, she will show up more. Hope I did the arrival justice!_

_So yeah, concerns, comments, critiscm,let me know. Thanks for reading/alerting/favoritign/__reviewing__ I appreciate it!_


	10. Meet and Greet

Chapter 9: Meet and Greet

_-Amiti's Room_

Amiti sat with Karis on the couch talking. Yet something was off. Karis was being unnaturally quiet, something that just didn't suit her. Amiti knew that Karis was only quiet if she was angry or upset, which meant that something must've been up with her to be this rattled. Though the Mercury Adept knew it was a bad idea to talk about feelings when a girl was upset, he decided to blaze that trail anyway.

"Karis, are you alright?" Amiti asked softly. "You aren't talking as much as normal."

Karis looked up like she had been in deep thought. "I'm fine." She replied after a moment's hesitation.

Her voice was different. Amiti realized that almost instantly. Instead of her normal light voice, Karis spoke with ice.

"Karis what's wrong? You can tell me." Amiti said.

"I told you, I'm FINE." Karis responded forcefully.

Despite his better judgment, Amiti couldn't drop the topic. "Karis, I can tell that something bothering you, what is it?"

Karis glared at Amiti to drop the subject, but Amiti kept her gaze. Finally, after a minute long staring contest, Karis groaned and leaned back. "Fine." She said simply.

"It's… it's bothering me that I couldn't stand with you when we came in." Karis replied.

"Karis, you know that's not my fault. If, if they saw us together, the nobles would freak! It'd cause some serious dissension." Amiti replied.

"What nobles? All I saw were Champans, and they definitely wouldn't have cared I was up there." Karis shouted.

"Rumor spreads Karis, don't you get that?" Amiti asked. "It's basic politics."

"No one would have cared that I stood with you, but you didn't let me stand there." Karis replied.

"How was I supposed to know that there wasn't a noble there? Even then how am I to know that the Ayuthan nobles don't have a spy hidden in my crew? Or in Eoleo's crew, or maybe just in the crowds wandering? What if you're a spy reporting back to my enemies? Maybe you're just saying that because you want dissension in Ayuthay." Amiti screamed back.

Karis stopped talking instantly and stared. "And what if I wanted to stand next to you because I love you?" She said quietly.

Then, wordlessly, Karis turned around and left the room. Leaving a stunned Amiti to analyze what he'd just said.

_-Matthew's Room_

Matthew lay on his bed unmoving. This journey, while significantly easier than his previous one, had worn him out and rest sounded oh so nice. And yet, Matthew knew that he couldn't rest. A Ball was starting up soon, and it needed guarding. Which was the only reason that Matthew and his friends were here.

Matthew's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Curiosity peaked, the Venus Adept stood and walked to his door, opening it. Before him stood Sveta, Queen of Morgal, and the object of Matthew's affections. Taking a step forward, Matthew took Sveta's hands in his and smiled.

"Hi." He said simply.

"Hi." She replied, a smile situated itself on her own face, and for a moment, they simply stared at each other.

It brought back memories. Memories, of the last time that Matthew had seen Sveta. Two years ago, on the doorstep of Belinsk.

Matthew had harbored feelings for Sveta for the entire six month journey across Angara. And yet he had been far too nervous to actually tell Sveta of his feelings. Instead, they became the best of friends. Always talking to each other and always around each other. Matthew had enjoyed it a ton! Little did he know that Sveta felt the exact same way as he did.

On the doorstep of the Apollo Ascent, Sveta had been wounded by one of the many monsters. Matthew's reaction had been brutal. He instantly opened a fissure in the earth, just beneath the monster, dropping them deep into the earth. Then quickly, Matthew closed it once again, crushing the dozen or so monsters that were attacking. It was unlike anything ever before. It was at that moment that Matthew realized that he didn't just like Sveta, he loved her.

After linking Souls at Apollo Sanctum, Matthew's feelings for Sveta had been made known… and hers for him. It was wonderful, those few days afterwards, the best of Matthew's life. He knew Sveta better than anyone ever had and better than anyone ever would, bar Sveta herself. And it was the same for him.

But when they had last seen each other, Matthew had taken it a step further than before. He didn't say anything, instead he kissed her. It was short, but passionate. Neither had said anything afterward, but Matthew knew that she had enjoyed it. Perhaps it was their Soul link, or perhaps something else, but Matthew knew that she was happy about it. Yet they hadn't spoken for two years since then.

But their connection, their Soul link, was still there, even now. Walking backwards, Matthew lead Sveta inside where they proceeded to talk about the previous two years for what felt like seconds but in actuality lasted hours.

"Do you have a date for the ball?" Sveta questioned, after three hours of talking.

Matthew shook his head. "No, I'm supposed to be guarding the very important people."

Sveta smiled coyly. "Aren't I important?"

Matthew flushed and then nodded quickly.

"Well then its settled, you'll go with me." Sveta said smiling.

"Uh, um okay. That's awesome!" Matthew replied, smiling.

"I have to go Matthew. Got to get ready for our date. I'll see you there." Sveta said, nodding and then turning and leaving the room.

"Date?" Matthew questioned.

_-Karis' room_

Karis sat in her room, wearing the fancy dress that Himi had provided, and leaning against her bed, unsure of what to do. The opening ball was tonight, but Karis honestly had no idea what to do.

Karis' dress was beautiful, a spectacular green that complemented her hair beautifully. It ended just above her knees, and showed off her assets perfectly. Karis hadn't had any idea that Himi was incredibly good at picking out clothes and style. But Himi was, and Karis was grateful for that.

Karis was lost in thoughts, and nearly didn't hear the soft knock at the door. But luckily, she did. Standing up quickly, the Jupiter Adept made her way to the door and opened it up, revealing a well dress King of Ayuthay, holding a small box and looking nervous.

"Karis, I'm sorry." Amiti said instantly, before Karis could say a single word. "It's been two years since I've interacted with anyone worthwhile. Two years that I've spent being paranoid and surviving because of it. It's hard to let go of that."

Karis was stunned, and instantly felt guilty. Karis didn't understand why she was so bothered by… then it hit her. She had been afraid that Amiti wasn't proud of her, of them. And that thought was terrifying. And yet, that gave Karis peace. A peace, that allowed her to overcome her anger and terror. A peace, that would maybe, just maybe allow her to love the King of Ayuthay.

"I'm sorry Amiti. This whole issue isn't important, I was just scared." Karis felt a tear stray down her cheek, and she looked down, embarrassed.

Amiti stepped forward, wiping the tear from Karis' cheek and smiling at her. "So we're okay?" He asked.

Karis nodded wrapping her arms around Amiti and hugging him close. After a minute, Karis stopped and took a small step back. "What's in the box?" She asked, noticing it for the first time.

Amiti blushed a little. "I was worried that you wouldn't forgive me, so I brought you a gift." Amiti opened up the box and pulled out a large sapphire necklace. Stepping behind Karis, the Mercury Adept put it around his girlfriend's neck, tightening the necklace and then kissing Karis on the cheek.

"I love you." He said simply.

Karis didn't know what to say, so she didn't. Instead, Karis turned and kissed Amiti passionately on the lips.

_-The Ballroom_

Rief looked around at the impressive ballroom. It was huge and beautiful, easily able to fit the large number of guests. Rief had arrived along with Mia and the Imil entourage. Admittedly that entourage was Piers and Nowell, but still it counted as an entourage.

The Mercury Adept took a drink from a waitress, downing it quickly. While the young Adept wasn't excited for the party itself, he was except for the politics that would follow. Those were what had interested Rief about the peace summit.

The son of Mia walked across the room. He'd already talked to Ivan, Piers and Nowell; which left his conversational options limited to only Baghi, Eoleo, and Tyrell. Matthew and Sveta had arrived but it was clear even from a distance that they were to absorbed with each other. Baghi wasn't a bad option, but Rief had no desire to talk to him. Eoleo and Tyrell meanwhile, would likely make fun of Rief if he spoke with either of the Mars Adepts. Luckily, Rief noticed Amiti and Karis come into the ballroom through a side door.

The decision was easy

"Amiti, Karis!" Rief shouted. He hadn't seen either of them for almost two years, two years too long. "How are you doing?"

Amiti stepped forward and hugged Rief. "I'm good how're you Rief?"

Rief nodded and then hugged Karis. "I'm well. The journey was tedious, but look at this. Yamata is beautiful." Rief smiled.

"Good to see you." Karis said, grabbing Rief's arm and smiling.

"Thanks." Rief replied, smiling. "How was your journey?"

Karis paused. "It was… eventful, to say the least." She finally said.

"So how've you been these past two years?" Amiti interjected, obviously covering up whatever had happened on the journey… Rief would have to talk to Matthew later when no one else was around.

"They've been good enough. Kraden and I travelled around Bilibin for a while, and we made a journey to each of the Four Lighthouses. They are quite breath-taking when seen in person." Rief spoke quickly, probably too much, but that was his nature. "I especially loved the Mercury Lighthouse, the since of empowerment I got when I stood on the summit was magnificent. But enough about me, what of yourself?"

Amiti smiled. "It's been an interesting two years since I became King. I've had to play politics far more than I'd like, but that's to be expected. But thanks to this one I've managed to get pretty darned good at politics." Amiti paused and glanced at Karis, gave a wink, and then returned to the discussion.

"How're you doing Amiti?" Rief asked.

"Good, no better than good, I feel amazing. My life seems better than ever, things are really looking up, and I'm not sure how it could be better right now."

"Oh? What's so good?" Rief asked, quite curious.

"I've got a powerful wealthy nation that believes in me. We're at a peace conference for every nation in Angara, which will hopefully stop war in Angara forevermore. I get to see my friends once again after too long alone, and best of all…" Once again Amiti glanced at Karis and smiled. "Best of all I have the most beautiful woman in the world at my side."

It took about six seconds for Rief to realize that the event that had transpired on the journey had been the beginning of a relationship between Amiti and Karis.

"Well good! I'm so happy for you two." Rief replied, beaming ear to ear. "I'll let you get back to the rest of the party."

Amiti nodded and smiled, before slipping his hand into Karis, and walking on further into the ballroom; leaving Rief very alone in a huge room with dozens of guests.

Sighing, Rief walked ahead towards one of several side entrances. The grand majority of the guests entered through the main doorway. A huge set of oak doors with an announcer, Amiti and Karis were one of few who hadn't entered there apparently. Rief figured that conclusion primarily because the announcer hadn't called their names out together.

Looking ahead, Rief noticed the beauty of Yamata, Himi herself, leaning against a wall watching the party. Rief felt something beat hard and quick in his stomach, something he'd only felt three other times in his life. Knowing that it meant that he was attracted to Himi, Rief made a decision that was bolder than he usually was; but hey, it was a time for being bold besides, Mia wanted grand kids at some-point.

"Himi?" Rief asked, primarily to make sure that she was okay.

The beautiful girl looked over and instantly beamed and stood up. "Rief!" She shouted, throwing her arms around the Mercury Adept and hugging him tightly. Rief returned the hug and held it, probably a little longer than he should have, but well, screw it, he was on the wild side tonight. Probably from that drink he'd had earlier…

"How are you?" Rief asked, smiling himself.

"I'm wonderful, especially now that you're here." Himi replied smiling.

The dress she was wearing, while of an obvious Yamatan origin, was stunningly beautiful to Rief. Sure it didn't really show her curves, and it flowed down past her knees, but somehow it was still beautiful. Her hair was down too, apparently she'd cut it as well, because it merely flowed to her shoulders as opposed to her butt.

"I've missed you Himi." Rief said, staring into her eyes.

"I missed you too, Rief." Himi said, a sad smile on her lips. "We'll have to make the most of our time here together."

Rief smiled. "I'd like that."

"I know that it's usually the guys job to ask, but Rief do you think we could…" Himi started to ask.

"Yes?"

"Could we dance?" Himi asked innocently.

"I'd love that. But I don't know how…"

"Just follow my lead Rief." Himi said, smiling.

Himi quickly reached out her hand, which Rief took gracefully. Together, they walked down to the middle of the ballroom and began to dance together. Rief wasn't sure how to describe the dance, but it was incredibly beautiful, and personal. He was closer now to Himi than he'd ever been for anyone else ever.

Unfortunately, the dance was interrupted by the loud slamming of the main entrance. Rief instantly stopped and withdrew his Vajra Mace. Looking around rapidly, Rief held his arm out on instinct to protect Himi.

But it was for naught. A powerful strike struck the back of Rief's head and he was sent flying to the ground. Rief stayed conscious however and unleashed a Tundra at his foe. Unfortunately the foe was quick, and dodged the strike with a backflip. The Tundra dissolved quickly, revealing Rief's assailant: Blados, General of the Tuaparang.

**Author's Notes: **BOOM I updated. Man, the Sparks and Sacrifice chapters are WAY easier to write than my Terminus chapters. Perhaps I know the characters better? Or maybe it helps that I plotted out what happens in every chapter. I don't know, but I'm glad I'm back. Hopefully updates will be quicker, but no promises. I'm alternating between Terminus and SaS for now, and I think that'll work. You know the only thing I hate about this chapter is that I introduce the fight between Karis and Amiti but then I instantly resolved it. I don't know why, but that bothers me somewhat. Anywho, next chapter is called First Fight, and features some action Now for Review Responses.

Mystery box: three ships? Spark, Storm and what was the other one? Eoleo-Abigail? I feel dumb that I don't remember. But anyway, SpiritShipping is pretty heavy in this chapter, and I love that, hopefully you do to!

Anti-viper: I'm glad you liked their interaction, I was worried that it'd come of badly. Glad it didn't. Yeah, I felt a bit bad making Maro a villain, but I like him having a jerky personality. Anywho, on Kraden, I'm glad he seemed cool because in all honesty I kinda hate him. Well, hate's a strong word. Dislike him, a lot. I feel like Him would end up being outgoing, so I'm glad you liked that. You'll find out about Takeru, eventually. I hate the last line with Meisa, because it needed to be there but for the life of me I couldn't figure out a way to say it the way I wanted to.

Grand-Lord: Carina for the name, and a spear or staff for a weapon, Unholy Tide perhaps?

That's all for the reviews, thanks goes to everyone who reviews, I appreciate it and hope that ya'll keep it up! Please keep reviewing, it's a HUGE encouragement to keep writing


	11. First Fight

Chapter 10: First Fight

Matthew wasn't far when Blados appeared. He and Sveta had been near the buffet table, both starving. But everything had been ignored once Blados appeared. Every Warrior or Child of Vale who heard Blados strike Rief instantly turned their attention to him.

Ten Adepts turned to face Blados. Ivan, Piers, Nowell, Mia, Matthew, Sveta, Amiti, Tyrell, Karis and Himi all faced the brutal assailant. Blados grinned and held out his large sword. With a wave of his hand, Blados waved for the Warriors to attack.

Matthew sped forward with uncanny speed. Only Sveta managed to reach Blados before Matthew. Sveta swung her clawed hand at Blados, unfortunately Blados had swung his fist and struck Sveta's gauntlet. Though Sveta wasn't particularly wounded, her blow was canceled out. Luckily, Matthew sped forward and struck Blados.

The Dark Adept flew backwards in the room, but rolled to stop the momentum. Standing upright, he lurched forward, striking a random guest, severing her arm, and causing immense bleeding. Blados launched himself forward, swinging his blade directly down at Rief, who had just gotten up. Unfortunately for Blados, Piers was already upon him, parrying the strike.

Piers pressed forward, putting Blados on the defensive and masterfully blocking each strike that Blados attempted to make. Unfortunately, Piers didn't know that Blados was a Mercury Adept, and was unpleasantly surprised when Blados unleashed a torrent of water at the revered sailor.

Blados quickly turned and blocked a strike from Ivan, before flipping backwards and kicking Tyrell into the Jupiter Adept. The Tuaparang General ducked in order to dodge Karis' incoming strike, and then kicked out, striking her stomach and launching her into a wall. Blados leapt back further, and was given a quick moment of respite before Nowell and Mia combined their abilities in a heroic display of Ice Missiles. Unfortunately, Blados blocked their strikes by summoning a tundra of ice.

Next, the Tuaparang General turned towards Himi, swinging forward with his huge sword. Himi blocked the strike with her staff, then unleashed attacked back at him. Unfortunately, Blados dodged the strike and swung once more at Himi. Just before his blade bisected the Young Adept, Rief leapt in the way, taking Himi's blow for her. Himi instinctively reached down and used a Potent Cure on her fried. Blados stopped momentarily, but then simply ignored the duo, and rushed towards two more guests of the ball.

At this point however, Matthew and Sveta were both ready for more action. Matthew sprinted forward quickly, and swung the Sol Blade down at Blados, who blocked the strike. Matthew rolled to the side just in time for Sveta to come soaring at Blados, who narrowly managed to divert her into the ice wall he'd made. Matthew's blood boiled slightly, and the Venus Adept erupted forward and swung at the Mercury Adept. Blados swung his huge blade at Matthew, but the Earth Adept ignored it and struck Blados in his stomach, cracking a rib. Blados' eyes narrowed in anger, and he launched a pillar of ice out at Matthew, knocking the Adept across the ballroom.

Sveta watched as her date flew across the room. Her eyes slimmed, and she let out a powerful roar before transforming into her Beast Form, ripping her beautiful dress apart. Sveta flew forward and struck Blados in the abdomen, wounding him. Then, she picked up the Tuaparang General and threw him into his ice wall. Finally she zoomed forward and struck his stomach, shattering a portion of the armor, and causing Blados to cough up blood.

The Tua General stood up straight after a moment, but instead of fighting more, he summoned up an ice pillar and launched himself into the air, escaping through an open window. Sveta leapt up after him, but wasn't able to climb up the wall. Sighing, she transformed back into her normal form and sprinted to Matthew, who was finally standing up.

"Are you alright?" She asked quickly.

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, just a few cracked ribs. Uh Sveta, what happened to your dress?"

Sveta looked down and saw that her dress had been torn up badly, and barely covering up her private most areas. Sveta sighed and ignored it for the moment; more important things were going on. "I went into beast form." She revealed.

Matthew simply nodded, and then wrapped his jacket around her.

"Matthew! Sveta! Do you know why Blados was here?" Himi asked, jogging over to the young couple.

The Venus Adept shook his head. "The Tuaparang must have something planned. They probably want to disrupt peace talks."

Himi nodded. "I'll have the guards hunt him down. I hope you are okay Matthew. Do you require healing?"

Matthew shook his head. "I'll be fine, thanks Himi." The princess wandered back to the other Adepts while Matthew turned to his date. "We should get you back to your room, no one needs to see you like this."

Sveta smiled seductively; "I can think of one guy who should."

Matthew's face instantly turned bright red as he realized what Sveta had just suggested.

_-The Patio_

Kraden had rushed towards the door when he heard the loud crash. Unfortunately, Kraden was quite slow, and the door was locked by the time that he reached it. Sighing, Kraden was surprised when he felt someone grab his arm. The wised Sage turned and saw that it was Meisa, a member of King Wo's court.

"I'm scared!" Meisa admitted. "You're a Warrior of Vale, protect me?"

Kraden was about to note that he had little fighting ability, but then he realized that the whatever was going on was taking place inside the ballroom. It wasn't likely to come after the patio guests. And Matthew and his friends were inside, almost definitely taking care of everyone indoors. All Meisa wanted was some hope. Hope that Kraden could provide most easily.

"Of course. Stay behind me." Kraden motioned for Meisa to move behind him.

Meisa moved behind Kraden, touching his arm briefly. She gave them a quick squeeze. "What fine muscles you have." She said slyly.

Kraden smiled. His hypothesis must be correct. Meisa was likely deluding herself into believing that Kraden was strong, which would allow her to escape the reality of the situation. That, or Kraden's late night work outs had actually done something.

"Shouldn't we leave, just in case the assaulter comes after us?" Meisa questioned.

Kraden nodded. "That is a good idea, come, let's go." The wisened sage smiled and led Meisa away from the patio and towards the rooms that all guests got to stay in.

"So where are you from?" Meisa asked innocently.

Kraden smiled again. "I grew up in Tolbi, King Babi saw my brilliance when I was young; he brought me to Tolbi where I learned even more about Alchemy and such things."

Meisa smiled seductively. "I've always thought intelligence to be a key attribute in the men of my liking."

Kraden's heart nearly stopped in surprise. Was he seducing this girl? He hadn't done that successfully in nearly fifty years. That's why Kraden had stooped to peeping, it was the only chance he ever had on seeing any girl. But, maybe that would change. Maybe Meisa would be a fresh start.

"My room is close to here, let's go; we should be safer there after all." Kraden spoke directly.

Meisa nodded, quickly following behind him. After a few minutes of walking, the duo arrived at the esteemed sage's room and made their way inside.

Once inside, Meisa walked out onto the balcony, looking out at Yamata City.

"Quite the view." Kraden said quietly.

Meisa nodded. "The city is quite beautiful."

"Meisa I have a question for you." Kraden said softly, getting his wits about himself.

"Yes?"

"Did it hurt when you fell from Luna?" Kraden asked, it was his secret weapon, even though it often didn't work well.

Meisa cracked a smile and laughed. "Only a little bit."

Kraden smiled. _IT WORKED!_ He thought in his head.

"So what now?" Meisa asked.

"Well, the assailant is likely dead or defeated by now, you could probably go back to your room." Kraden muttered.

"All by myself? No thank you! Besides, I have a feeling that this room will be a lot more comfortable." Meisa said, winking at Kraden.

Kraden blushed. "Well, what would you like to do?" Unsure of what else to say.

Meisa took a small step forward, and locked her lips with Kraden. "You." She said quietly.

Kraden's face exploded in red, as he fell upon his bed.

A few minutes later though, Meisa stopped suddenly, "One question." Meisa said, stopping her kissing abruptly.

"Anything!" Kraden shouted, slinking his robe off.

"What do you know about the Tuaparang?" Meisa asked, caressing Kraden's cheek.

"There a military threat, and possess some advanced technology. We don't know what it is that they want though. They're lead by a mysterious leader known only as The High Empyror. And he has Psynergy Generals, and something to do with Dark Adepts. That's all I can think of." Kraden shot up and kissed Meisa's cheek.

"Why are the Children of Vale here then?" Meisa questioned, her hand moving to Kraden's bare chest.

"Emperor Unan wanted protection just in case any attacks happened." Kraden slowed. "Why do you ask?"

"Kaocho's intelligence network has failed considerably. And because you're the smartest man I knew of… not to mention the hottest."

Meisa waved her hand a little, and Kraden felt his chest heat up just a tad bit; however he now understood her reasoning.

"Ah okay. Let us continue my love." Kraden said, smiling as he placed his hand on Meisa's rump and leaning forward to kiss her.

Meisa recuperated, but suddenly stopped once more.

"Give me just a moment, I need to refresh myself." Meisa stood up from the bed, sliding her eschewed dress back into place and quickly went to the bathroom.

"Please hurry up in there my dear, I don't have the youthful endurance of my past!" Kraden shouted.

Meisa opened back up the door, wearing nothing but incredibly tight and small undergarments. In addition, her lips glossed brightly.

"Never mind, my endurance is going just fine!" Kraden stated excitedly.

Meisa leapt forward, thrusting her lips against Kraden. After a moment, Kraden felt Meisa press against his arm, heating it once again. Impulsively, Kraden stuck his tongue out, licking Meisa's lips accidentally.

Immediately, Meisa leapt back, breaking all contact with Kraden. "That should be more than enough for you to forget this entire encounter, old geezer."

Kraden stopped as his eyes began to darken. "How?"

Meisa smiled, her lips shining briefly; allowing Kraden to realize that she must have glossed her lips with some kind of chemical that caused him t-

-In the Throne-Room of Yamata City

"King Susa, I heavily beseech you to send a letter to my father. We've severely misplaced the threat level here." Matthew explained. "On our journey to the Apollo Lens, we fought with Blados multiple times, and it was always a grueling battle. I suspect that if Blados is here, then his partner Chalis will be here as well. And it is quite possible that there are even more Tuaparang soldiers in waiting."

King Susa nodded, hearing the worries. "Very well, I will commission my fastest carrier pigeon to take a letter to Isaac and Garet."

"Father they wouldn't get here in time. You need to send your fastest ship for them; otherwise it would be pointless to send the letter at all." Himi spoke up from her position to the left of her father.

Susa sighed after a minute of thinking. "Very well, I'll send my fastest ship after them."

"Thank your highness." Matthew said, kneeling and nodding.

Susa smiled softly. "The pleasure is mine, thank you for protecting us. You are dismissed, all of you." The Children of Vale stood to leave, one by one exiting the door. But, just before Rief and Himi stepped out, Susa spoke. "Halt, I want to talk to the two of you."

Rief and Himi exchanged a nervous look, before approaching the throne slowly.

"Yes father?" Himi asked.

"I wanted to thank Rief here for protecting you when Blados attacked." Susa explained to Himi. "You have my thanks Rief."

"You're welcome your Highness." Rief said, kneeling.

"You are dismissed." Susa commanded.

Rief nodded and turned around, leaving Himi alone in the throne room.

After the door shut behind the Mercury Adept, Susa addressed Himi.

"You have feelings for him, don't you?" The King questioned.

"FATHER!" Himi shouted. "That is none of your business! Who I like and don't like doesn't pertain to you."

Susa smiled faintly. "I approve."

"And another thin- wait what?" Himi asked, puzzled.

Susa smiled bigger now. "He's the son of the leader of Imil. That'll lead to close ties with them. Plus he has a brilliant mind, and is a Adept. He's a great choice. I approve of him. Did he ask you out yet?"

"Uh… no." Himi said, feeling incredibly awkward that her father was talking to her about boys.

"Shame." Susa shook his head. "Perhaps you should make the first move."

"Father!" Himi shouted.

"After all, you are 17. You're getting a bit old."

"Father!" Himi screamed.

"Yeah first move is a good idea." Susa replied.

"Father! I'm not gonna go do that, that's wrong!" Himi bellowed.

"I'm not saying sleep with him! Sol forbid! I just mean, talk with him, flirt a little. Show him the signs, he'll get interested. You're a beautiful young princess. He's bound to." Susa monologued.

"Err, uh, I'll talk to you later Father." Himi said; unsettled by what her father had said.

Susa just smiled. "I'll let you get back to your love bird."

"FATHER!"

_-Twelve Hours Later_

Kraden woke up groggily, looking around. The sun was just rising, so it must be the early morning; or was it setting, maybe the day was almost over? A mind splitting headache struck Kraden's mind, and he cringed as a result. Stumbling through the drawer to his side, Kraden eventually discovered a potion; which he took immediately. Instantaneously Kraden's headache dispersed.

Relieved, Kraden sank back into his bed only to realize that he wasn't wearing anything. Kraden sat up quickly and saw his clothes from last night leading towards the door; apparently he'd been in a hurry to get them off… Kraden also noticed something highly unusual. Female undergarments. The hopeless girl crazy man tried to think back to the events of the previous night, but couldn't remember anything after the loud crash that had come from the main ball room. Frowning, The Wise Safe finally put two and two together.

"I must have gotten drunk last night. Really drunk, and then bedded one of the woman here. And then, forgot about everything. Yeah. Wonder who it was…"

_**Author's Notes:**_ And Meisa finally appears! Yet, she doesn't seem like the sensible adviser that she was in Dark Dawn now does she? MWAHAHA, things will be revealed eventually. Kraden kinda sucks with girls doesn't he? Haha,

Man, writing a girl crazed Kraden is QUITE fun So please let me know what oyu think, and please **review****. **I appreciate each of the reviews, and would LOVE to have some feedback. So, only anti-viper reviewed last time, but I'll still show a response, just for you guys :p Man guys, writing Himi and Susa was SO much fun!

anti-viper: the thing with Karis forgiving Amiti so quickly, was really more of the epiphany that Karis had about Amiti. You know originally, she was worried, and unsure of how it worked out. And then BOOM, when he apologizes, it's the first time that it really hits her that they could actually work out well together, in the future. That's really the point of the part thanks for the review!

Well, next time on Sparks and Sacrifice: Lots of Shipping, on Balconies. After all, it is That Balcony Life


	12. That Balcony Life

Chapter 11: That Balcony Life

Matthew and Sveta sat in chairs on the balcony of her room, overlooking Yamata City. It was a beautiful night sky, consisting of beautiful stars and a huge glowing moon. In addition, Yamata was showing off; they had launched something that they called "fireworks" into the sky. The tiny canisters launched into the sky before exploding into bits of colorful sparks that made unique designs. It made for a wondrous night skyline.

Turning away from the demonstration, Matthew reached for Sveta's hand. He grasped it tightly, its warmth quickly spreading to his own hand. Sveta glanced at Matthew and smiled, an action that he quickly returned. Sveta turned back towards the skyline, causing Matthew to sigh. He truly didn't want to bring up what he was about to, but Matthew knew that he had to.

"Sveta." Matthew started. "I've got to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Sveta asked. "You seem concerned." She noted.

"Just before we left on the journey here, I had a vision." Matthew began.

Sveta nodded for Matthew to continue.

"In it, you were shoved over a cliff, but I couldn't reach you. And then the Wise One appeared…" Matthew stopped.

"And?" Sveta asked, concerned.

"He said If I go to this Peace Conclave, then I'll save you, but I'll endure a fate worse than death… he said some stuff about my other options, but it doesn't really matter anymore."

"That's all?" Sveta asked.

"He also gave me the advice: don't be consumed by darkness. Whatever that means." Matthew revealed.

"Why did you come here if you knew that would happen to you?" She asked sternly.

"Because, if I didn't, I wasn't ever going to see you again. And that in itself is a fate worse than death."

Sveta gave a sad smile. "I appreciate that, but you shouldn't have come. We could have been pen pals. Or something."

Matthew chuckled. "Like I said. Fate. Worse. Than. Death."

Sveta giggled and punched Matthew lightly. "Well, have you told anyone else about your vision?"

Matthew shook his head. "Only you."

"What should we do?" Sveta asked.

"I don't know." Matthew replied.

Sveta sighed and leaned on Matthew's shoulder.

"I know one thing we can do." She said slyly.

"Oh? What's that?" Matthew asked.

"Enjoy what time we have left." Sveta replied.

"Aren't we doing that now?"

Sveta smiled, and then planted a kiss on his lips. Matthew smiled at first, but quickly Sveta continued, kissing his ear, and then his neck. The Venus Adept glanced down and saw that Sveta had unhooked the top two buttons on her vest, revealing a portion of her bosom. Realizing what she was doing, and he kissed her on the lips passionately. Quickly, he felt Sveta slide her hands onto his chest.

Sveta reached lower to his belt buckle, and began to unhook it when Matthew stopped her. "We shouldn't be doing this now." Matthew huffed.

Sveta sighed, acknowledging that he was right, and then leaned into his shoulder, closing her eyes. They stayed like that for a while, eventually falling asleep in the beautiful paradise.

_-On a Higher Balcony_

Karis sat on the edge of a balcony, her legs dangling above the party that was going on. The visitors and townsfolk both seemed to not care about the attack that had just happened. Both were partying, getting drunk and eating gluttonously. And, Karis was sure the whores of Yamata City were getting a significant boost to their salaries for the duration of the conclave.

The parties were fun, but Karis hadn't gotten a lot of alone time, especially since her relationship with Amiti had gone off. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her time with Amiti. Just that, alone time was precious, and better than a singular party. Karis sighed as she watched the party.

Surprisingly enough, it was a bit cold. Karis supposed that it shouldn't be that surprising, after all, it was late fall. Winter would be coming soon enough, and that meant snow, ice and perhaps more. Karis shivered and rubbed her bare arms in an effort to warm herself.

Suddenly, Karis felt someone place something upon her shoulders: a jacket. Karis smiled and turned to face her gifter.

"Thanks Amiti." Karis said as she turned… only to see none other than Tyrell standing before her.

"Not quite who you were expecting huh?" Tyrell replied coyly, unsure of what Karis' reaction would be.

Karis rolled her eyes. "No, not quite." She crossed her arms, not even bothering to thank him for his jacket.

"How was your journey?" Tyrell asked, probably trying to engage in some small talk.

"Fine." Karis replied, not wanting to answer.

"How're things with Amiti?" Tyrell asked.

It took all of Karis' will power not to snort. The last time she'd seen Tyrell, he'd just punched up Amiti because the couple had kissed. "They're really good." Karis felt a twang of guilt as she spoke.

"Do you remember that time when we were under the stars, just before we reached Harapa? Me and you just sat together and counted out the constellations we could see."

Karis stayed silent for a while, before finally speaking. "I remember."

"That was an awesome night." Tyrell remarked joyously.

Karis didn't say anything. Partially because it had been an awesome night. They'd gotten to truly talk that night. It was probably the first time that Karis and Tyrell had talked without Matthew there. The other reason Karis didn't speak, was because she wanted to keep those good memories, not trash them.

They stood their silent for a moment.

"Karis look." Tyrell said, moving closer to her. "I'm sorry for what I've done. And I regret it every moment of every day. I wish I could go back in time and take back what I did. But I can't. So just know that I'm so incredibly sorry."

Karis wasn't sure what to say, so she stayed silent.

"I just need to say that I care about you so much, and I want you to be happy. So if the only way for you to be happy is to not be around me, then fine. I'll leave you alone."

"Tyrell wait."

Instantly the fire Adept halted in place.

"I… I haven't treated you completely right. What happened wasn't entirely your fault…" For just a moment, Karis faltered. "I forgive you. And I'm sorry too, for how I've treated you."

"I deserved it all; you have nothing to apologize for."

Karis giggled, and then swung her legs back onto the balcony floor in order to face Tyrell, only to see that he was gone. Karis sighed, hoping that he could forgive her, and himself.

_-On An Even Higher Balcony_

Mia watched with a smile as Tyrell and Karis talked briefly. It reminded her of Garet… the lost love of Mia's life.

Mia and Garet had gotten together when the burly Adept had admitted his love to her. Mia has reciprocated his feelings, and soon a new relationship had been born. They hadn't had time for the happy times. Instead, Mia had been forced to go on a journey to heal

A little less than thirty years ago, he'd been wounded in a massive battle with an ancient enemy. It took him six months to heal, and even when healed he wasn't the same. He was constantly afraid, scared that he might mess up and die. It caused him to lose his faith and confidence. And because of that, Mia had left him.

The legendary healer had heard rumors that he was more like his previous self, confident and goofy, but she couldn't believe them. It was something that she would have to see for herself. Unfortunately, due to her responsibilities to Imil, a trip to the Lookout Cabin, or Kalay was incredibly unlikely. In fact her biggest chance of seeing him again was here in Yamata City. But, he'd sent Tyrell in his stay, not that that was bad, it was just… disappointing.

Truth be told, Mia missed Garet terribly; his handsome face, the warm hands, confidant personality. She missed the way that he could eat an entire banquet meal without flinching. In addition, she missed his incredible fortitude and resistance. Most of all, Mia missed his reassuring nature. She'd grown accustomed to it, and its' disappearance was striking. Mia hoped above almost everything else that Garet would return with his previous attributes. And yet, that hope seemed all too unlikely. However, the fact that Tyrell's nature was so incredibly close to Garet's likened to the return of the old Garet. Still, Mia was unsure.

After she left Garet, Mia had felt a hole in her heart. She tried various different ways to fill that hole; drinking, drugs, sex. But nothing worked. That is, until one day Mia woke up, and she knew she was pregnant. Instantly, Mia's hole was filled; she had a love in her life again. True, it wasn't one she'd been expecting. Several months later, two adorable little children had popped out, and despite all the chaos surrounding them, Mia was happy again.

Better yet, the town even supported her. Although she was technically a single mother, it never really felt that way. Everyone loved Nowell and Rief, and everyone helped raise them into the loving children they were today.

Mia looked down once more and saw Tyrell walk away. They're conversation may have finished, but Mia had a hunch, that they had barely begun.

_-On a Beach, Yamata_

Rief and Himi walked together along the shores of Yamata. The Fireworks launched into the stars above them, exploding in bright and colorful forms. It was beautiful, and Rief absolutely loved it. The night was going grand! He was walking on Yamata, with fireworks, with an incredibly beautiful girl. Seriously, how could things possibly get better?

"It must be nice, getting to live out here. Go swimming in this ocean every day." Rief noted, a bewildered smile on his face.

Himi shook her head. "I never go swimming. Father said I could drown, and besides, being in water always makes me feel… antsy."

"You live here?" Rief started, motioning to the breathtaking beach. "And you never go swimming?"

"You'd be crazy to go swimming here!" Himi answered.

"Then I must be crazy." Rief replied, slipping off his cloak and letting it drop to the sand.

"What are you doing?" Himi asked, bewildered.

"I'm going to go swim." Rief remarked, unbuckling his pants and letting them drop. "Come on!"

"I didn't bring swim clothing!" Himi exclaimed as an excuse.

"Neither did I." Rief noted, slipping off his shirt and walking into the water.

Himi stood there a moment indecisive. "Father did say to be more outgoing…" The Venus Adept slipped off her dress and waded into the water after Rief. "Wait for me Rief!" She shouted.

Rief stopped and turned around, smiling. "Come on, I'll help you out. Do you know how to swim?"

"Of course I do! Father taught me how in our pool." Himi revealed as she finally caught up to the Mercury Adept.

"You have a pool too?" He questioned.

Himi nodded. "Of course."

Rief smiled and rolled his eyes, before wadding deeper into the ocean, Himi following close behind. It took them a good amount of time, but eventually they arrived at an outcropping of rocks. Climbing up onto one, Rief looked around. It was small enough that only three people could sit comfortably, and had side wall that would be perfect for leaning against. The Mercury Adept turned around and helped Himi up, before leaning back against the side of the rock and resting. Himi quickly sat next to her friend and closed her eyes, resting as well.

Rief opened his eyes and glanced at Himi, noting that she was only wearing her bright green undergarments. They were soaking wet, which allowed Rief to see through them just a tad bit, providing an even better look at Himi's newest assets. Unfortunately Rief quickly realized what would happen if he stared for too long, so he turned away. After a moment however, Himi leaned against his shoulder.

"I'm gonna be honest." Himi stated dryly. "That swim took a lot more out of me than I thought it would."

Rief smiled. "When was the last time you went swimming?"

"Five years ago." Himi mumbled out.

"Five Years Ago?!" Rief exclaimed.

Himi grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I never liked it much."

"Then why did you go now?" Rief asked, bewildered.

Himi shrugged. "Cause you wanted me to."

Rief shook his head, and then leaned back again. "Well you did good."

_-Elsewhere on the Beach_

Eoleo and Abigail were walking down the beach talking, for the first time in a long time. It was good to air their grievances out, and really, Eoleo was just happy Abigail was willing to talk to him. Last time he remembered talking to her, they'd had a pretty big fight. Something about some whore from Sana. Eoleo didn't remember. He'd probably been drunk when he met the whore… and had the argument.

Eoleo looked over at Abigail. Her normally long straight blonde hair was in a tight pony tail. Her shirt was a white button down one, that was missing the top three buttons. She wore her trademark black pants and brown combat boots, and had a butcher knife sheathed at her waist. It was pretty hot.

The old friends were talking when they came across some clothes; traditional Imilian robes, and a royal Yamatan dress. Glancing towards the ocean, Eoleo could barely make out the forms of two people whom Eoleo expected were Himi and Rief. Smiling devilishly, the pirate turned to his lover. "Help me move these clothes." He commanded.

Abigail crossed her arms. "What for?"

"My friend Rief hasn't ever kissed a girl, but somehow he's got one out there on the rocks without her dress. When they come back with no clothes…" Eoleo stopped hoping Abigail would catch on.

She did, and she smiled. "Tyrell mentioned Rief, sounded like the kid needs all the help he could get." Walking over to the dress, Abigail dragged it into some bushes nearby, and then helped Eoleo stuff Rief's robes in the same bushes.

"What'd you think will happen?" Abigail asked.

"Ah, Rief probably won't get anything tonight, but he'll at least get a nice look. And he needs one of those."

Abigail laughed, before turning to continue walking.

"Eoleo." She asked, after a minute of silent walking.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?" Eoleo replied, honestly not knowing what Abigail was referring to.

"Why'd you get engaged to that Sanan whore when we were dating?" Abigail asked.

"I was drunk." Eoleo admitted.

"That's why we've been fighting all these years?" Abigail asked, completely bewildered.

"I suppose so." Eoleo replied.

Abigail's eye shot into the air in anger. "Eoleo!" She shouted. "If I EVER catch you with a drink again, you're a dead man! You hear me? A. Dead. Man." She threatened terrifyingly.

Eoleo nodded soberly. "I understand." Though in truth he had no intention of giving up drinking.

Abigail smiled. "Good."

"What does this mean… for us?" He asked. "Are we together again?" Eoleo asked, hopefully.

Abigail snorted and shook her head. "I'm not that easy, Eoleo! What do you think of me? A whore?"

"No, no, n-" Eoleo was interrupted before he could finish apologizing.

"The balls in your court now, Eoleo." Sighing, Abigail flung her hair and walked away.

Bewildered, Eoleo stood there unnerved. "I need a drink." He muttered to himself.

"I heard that!" Abigail shouted from a ways over.

Eoleo sighed, this would be the hardest bed of his life.

Author's Notes: demonsshade uploaded a new story entitled: Methodenstreit: The Last Czamaral. And it is wonderful. I HEAVILY recommend it. It's awesome. Go read it. It's legit.

Now, with that aside, sorry this took two long. I've done two chapters of my other story in my absence, so that's where I've been. Anyway, I seriously appreciate the reviews I've gotten, and I hope you guys keep it up!

So unlike all of my other chapters so far, this one actually delved into the backstory of Mask of Pain. The prequel to SaS. Don't go read it, MoP is trash. I keep it up partly cause it is the back story, and partly because i've traded computers and the internet copy is the last remaining one. That said, I tried not to dive too deep into backstory. But, if anything didn't/doesn't make sense PLEASE tell me so I can transfer the info. So I have a canon change. Now Nowell and Rief are twins instead of being a couple years a part. It honestly doesn't matter much in my opinion.

Truth be told, the Rief-Himi scene there was totally based off of In Time, a great movie

Now for Review Responses:

Anon Dude: Thanks for the review! I appreciate it. There's a bit more Matt-Sveta shipping in this chapter, and there will be more later. Cough16cough

Yasha Kyouran: Glad you liked it!

Finally, see you next time, for Chapter 12: Remembrance.

Thanks for reading!


	13. The First Kill

Chapter 12: The First Kill

Chalis sat upon the ancient stone of the Catacombs, re-reading the unofficial orders that the High Empyror had given Chalis and her partner. Chalis leaned back. They were to disrupt the negotiations as much as possible, and, if possible, cause sides to be taken between the countries. The silver tongued Adept didn't know why the High Empyror had ordered it that way, sure she had her suspicions, but nothing was confirmed. He had silenced her before she was able to ask.

The Mars Adept looked up from her seated position just as her partner, Blados, entered the catacombs.

"How did it go?" She asked immediately.

"Those kids have powered up since we last encountered them." Blados admitted angrily, his sword dragging on the ground.

"That bad?" Chalis questioned teasingly.

Blados shot out a glare and continued on to sulk unaccompanied.

Chalis rolled her eyes as she leaned back against her current position. The plan was progressing. Soon the monarchs would come to blows and after that, victory was all but secured. The silver tongued woman looked around the corner to make sure Blados was gone, and then she pulled out her journal.

It was a rather old book that she'd used for years. It was worn, dusty, ripped in places, spilled on in others, and fragile. But Chalis loved it. Within the journal, Chalis had written her history down. How she'd become who she was, how she got her position, who her parents were, and so many other secrets that few could ever hope to know.

Feeling in a mood to reminisce, Chalis opened the journal to the first page and began reading. It brought a smile to her lips, as she remembered how she had managed to seduce one of the original Generals of the Tuaparang. He'd been an ugly sort, and therefore easy to seduce. And it was that easy. Once she was in his pants, the General had opened himself up to anything and everything that Chalis asked for. Previously he'd been a willfully strong fighter, but within a month of meeting Chalis he'd been transformed into the shell of the man he once was.

But it hadn't escaped the High Empyror's notice.

Chalis smirked as she looked at the pages she had written so very long ago.

_Today General Dorben took me to the grand ball. While the setting was quite dry, the company was refreshing. Dorben introduced me to the High Empyror today; A handsome man in his forties if I were to guess. Somehow he has completely white hair already, which is surprising, but his features remain rather young looking, and oddity to say the least. _

_I could feel the power resonating within him. It dwarfed my own, just as Sol dwarfs Weyard. His strength… I'm not sure how he could have gained so much. Could it be possible that he was simply born with it? It seems unlikely, but considering that Alchemy was unleashed, nothing is too unlikely. Anyway, I'm getting on the wrong topic. _

_During the party, the High Empyror took me on a tour of his palace. It's huge! The dining hall could accommodate over two hundred guests. The ballroom itself? A thousand, easily. But it was the private tour that Chalis had enjoyed the most. _

_The High Empyror's throne room stood tall, but bleak. Its' grey marble floor cold even through her shoes. The black walls held the Chimera symbol of the Tuaparang which would inspire fear in the hearts of turncoats. The coolest thing about the room, was easily the strong glass wall behind the throne. It gave the most breathtaking view in all of Tua City. But the intrigue didn't stop there. _

_The High Empyror showed me a hidden door in the Throne Room. By pressing in the right eye of the Tuaparang Chimera a panel on the door opened, revealing a dark stairwell. The High Empyror said that only the Generals and himself knew of stairwell, but that obviously wasn't true. After all, he told me, and I'm not a General… yet. _

_The stairwell went up a floor, opening to a doorway, or more stairs. The High Empyror chose to show me the stairs. After following up four more flights of stairs, we emerged from a trapdoor onto the zenith peak of Tua City. The Tuaparang Chimera was engraved into the ground, and the area itself seemed ideal for a duel. Luckily that wasn't what the High Empyror had in mind. _

_We walked back down the stairs to the door from earlier, except this time the High Empyror opened it. _

_It revealed a small room with an engineering table in one corner. And quaint twin-sized bed, a desk in a separate corner, a closet in a third corner, a in the fourth corner was the bathroom facilities. I was impressed. The High Empyror could have had the grandest room in all of Tua City, but instead he had a quaint room that held only what he needed. _

_The High Empyror turned and kissed me right after that. Next he slipped off my dress and kissed my neck tenderly, then snapped the strap to my top undergarments off with his fingers. It was at that point that we fell onto the bed…_

Chalis blushed as she remembered her time form that night. A pleasant affair to say the least. She grinned as she flipped ahead a couple pages to what happened after she slept with the High Empyror.

…_we strolled out of the room, my undergarments were torn too much to wear. Luckily, my dress covered me, barely. Walking back into the throne room, the High Empyror stopped me. He asked me where I'd gotten my silver tongue. _

_I was taken aback. No one had ever noticed it before, other than myself of course. I've use it nearly every day. That's the only way General Dorben brought me to the party, or courted me in the first place. _

_I told the High Empyror that it was inherited from my mother. A special type of Mars Psynergy. According to the tomes mom got they come from manipulate the internal reactions of the body in order to solicit the response that I want. I don't know why I wrote that down, I already know that. Oh well. _

_Anyway, The High Empyror sounded impressed. He told me that if there's ever a position for General available, I'd be the first pick. _

Chalis leaned back as she smiled. The rest of that night had progressed smoothly. She'd returned to the party, danced with Dorben, and then, once they returned to his mansion, she had planned on talking him into killing himself. Chalis turned over a few more pages of the journal, until arriving at Dorben's death.

The page was marked with blood, proof for the High Empyror that Chalis had indeed killed Dorben. Chalis slid her hand over the paper. It still had the gritty feel of blood. Dropping the journal to the ground, Chalis walked to the edge of the catacombs.

The page brought back bad memories… memories, of her first kill.

_Five Years Ago, General Dorben's Mansion_

"_You're so beautiful my lovely Chalis." Dorben said as he kissed Chalis neck and slid the right strap of the dress over her shoulder. _

_Chalis grunted in response, and placed her hand on his thigh. _

"_I think I have won favor with the High Empyror today." Dorben stated proudly. _

"_Oh?" Chalis asked, taking a step back and walking into the large closet Dorben had. _

"_Yes. He seemed impressed with my plans for anti-Psynergy weaponry ." Dorben poked his head into the closet in order to watch Chalis change clothes, but she shooed him out. _

"_anti-Psynergy?" Chalis questioned as she slipped into her nightgown. _

"_Yes. Psynergy is the main tool that Weyard's greatest soldiers use. With my technology we should be able to stop it. And by extension, Weyard." Dorben explained. _

_In the closet, Chalis could hear him drop his pants to the ground. _

"_That would be useful now wouldn't it?" Chalis teased as she emerged from the closet wearing only the nightgown. _

_Dorben's eyes bulged at the sight of the beautiful Chalis. _

"_Not as useful as you are to me." Dorben smoothly transitioned. _

_He took three steps forward and leaned in to plant a kiss on Chalis, but she blocked it with a finger. _

"_Not just yet, love." Chalis walked over to the outer balcony. "Let us enjoy the silver moon." Chalis poured her Psynergy into the statement, and Dorben replied accordingly, walking out onto the balcony in only his slim boxer shorts. _

"_I have a strange request tonight love." Chalis mentioned calmly. _

"_Anything for you love." Dorben answered. _

"_Show me your blood." Chalis poured out Psynergy, and could feel Dorben's body switch pheromones. _

_Walking back into the bedroom he took out a knife, before bringing it back to the balcony and making a small incision on thumb. Dorben smeared it on Chalis lips, and then kissed her. _

"_No, that is the weakest of blood." Chalis trembled at what she was about to force Dorben to do. "Give me the purest of your blood." She poured out extra Psynergy just in case._

_Dorben nodded and sliced a little bit of flesh off his stomach, and blood flowed freely for a moment. The General looked to Chalis expectantly, and she quickly moved forward, kissing the incision, despite the disgust that she felt. _

"_Enough, let us continue now." Dorben said, taking the knife and placing it on the balcony rail. _

_He moved forward, kissing Chalis directly, and sliding one hand up her thigh until he reached her butt. He gave it a soft squeeze, and Chalis responded by pushing him against the railing in a frenzied kiss. Chalis pressed against his face, sticking her tongue into his mouth, and sliding her hand onto the cut he'd made earlier. _

"_Chalis?" He asked. In their usual encounters, she was submissive. _

_Chalis paused. Now was the perfect moment. The knife was right next to him, in easy reach. He was waiting for her to speak, and confused. It was practically guaranteed that he'd submit to her. But could she do that? Dorben had only been kind to Chalis. Never hurting her, and giving her the greatest of commodities. Nothing like Chalis' father had been. Dorben was a good man, he was the only General of the Tuaparang that didn't kill daily! Could she kill a man just like that? _

"_Chalis." Dorben repeated, this time with more strength in his voice. _

_It was in that moment, that Chalis realized her fate. She wasn't going to be a mistress to a General. She was going to be the General. She wouldn't have to quake, she would be in control. She would be strong. Nothing could touch her. Everything would be hers for the taking. Soon enough, she'd bed the High Empyror again, and the next time that happened? She would gain control of the Tuaparang wholly. _

"_I said I wanted the purest of blood." Chalis poured as much Psynergy as she could into the statement. _

"_Where?" Dorben asked. _

"_You know where." Chalis replied. _

_Dorben fell to his knees in resistance, but it was pointless. She'd already won him over, long ago in a room far away. Clutching the knife to his right, Dorben sliced a hole in his chest, and then pulled out the bone, skin, muscle and blood. He looked up at Chalis expectantly. _

"_The purest." She answered to the unspoken question. _

_With tears in his eyes, Dorben plunged the blade into his heart, where the purest of blood flowed freely. _

_Chalis smiled and watched as Dorben grew pale. _

"_Why?" He asked weakly, finally free from her control. "I gave you everything…" _

_Chalis glared devilishly. "Because I want it all." She reached into Dorben's chest and twisted the blade out, ending the General's life with pain. _

_Chalis fell back as the ramifications of what she'd done. She'd just killed a man. For a prize that she might not even receive. Chalis took the blade and ran to her Journal where she wiped the blood on a clean page. Chalis then checked back to the hall and peered out. No one was there. Chalis took a chair and hooked it in front of the door, blocking entry for some time. _

_Lightning flashed across the sky, freezing Chalis in place. The silver tongued woman was about to jump off the balcony, when she realized she was wearing only a nightgown, and soaked in blood. Rushing into the closet, Chalis stripped bare and grabbed one of Dorben's huge black jackets. It was big enough on her, that it looked like a dress, so Chalis wore it like that. Next she took one of Dorben's cloaks and draped it over her shoulders. Finally ready, Chalis fled to the Royal Palace, to the High Empyror. _

"Chalis!"

The woman General was forced out of her thoughts as Blados called out to her.

"What?" She asked, relatively annoyed. She'd been ruminating on that eventful night.

"Get your disguise on, it's almost time." Blados yelled.

Chalis sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll be ready soon."

_**Author's Notes: **_So despite the creepiness, and the mature themes, this chapter has turned out to be one of my favorites, and I'd love to see some thoughts on it. What you guys thought worked, and what didn't. Anywho, thanks for reviewing anti-viper and Anon Dude. I appreciate it! Keep it up guys! It's a massive encouragement to write!

Separate note: I changed the name of the chapter from what I said it would be, but that's alright. The point of the chapter kinda changed. This chapter originally was Chalis remember stuff. And while its still technically that. Its more about Chalis psychology, and what caused her to kill. Why she killed, not so much her remembering killing.

anti-viper: I'm glad you liked all the fluff, cause I was worried a lot of it came out wrong. SO I'm glad that it didn't come out too poorly :p But Thanks for the Review!

Anon Dude: Sixteen will be eventful… Until then keep it up, Thanks for the Review!

And that's all for now. I'll see you guys next time, for The Assault


	14. The Assault

Chapter 13: The Assault

Sveta pranced into the peace room a full ten minutes early. While not exactly worried, Sveta hadn't been excited, as she had a feeling that the events of the day would transform Angara forever. And, never one for rudeness, the beastwoman decided upon arriving early, in addition, she packed the Umbra Gauntlets on her hands just in case Blados showed up again.

The room itself was simple enough. A large circular granite table sat in the middle of the room, along with a few pillars and large windows that allowed light into the room. The chairs were quite comfortable too, Sveta noticed as she sat down. Only King Susa had arrived, everyone else was still waiting.

Briefly, Sveta wondered how long it would take Matthew to arrive, but she attempted to shrug off the thought. She needed to be focused for the negotiations, lest she end up on the raw end of the deal. Sveta looked down and rested her eyes for a few minutes, attempting to purge all other thoughts save those of Morgal. She was fairly successful in that regard.

"As we are now all here, let me official begin the peace summit by welcoming you all here. Thank you for coming." King Susa began, gesturing around the table. "Now that you have all been welcomed, I now formally begin the meeting with a few agreed upon rules. Since Yamata City and my kingdom are not on Angara, I shall be taking a step back and act as a moderator for the negotiations. Should Yamata be requested to join in any alliances, I shall step down and be replaced by the legendary sailor, and Warrior of Vale, Captain Piers."

Susa stopped for a moment to catch his breath and then began again. "If at any point this peace summit devolves into an argument Piers and the Children of Vale shall end the meeting until a later day. No personal threats may be made. Now that the official rules have been explained, this peace summit may begin." King Susa sat down and leaned back into his chair, silent.

Emperor Unan stood up slowly. "I want to start this meeting off on the correct foot by formally apologizing to Queen Sveta and Morgal for the occupation and exploitation of the beastpeople. I hope we can ignore our differences and rise above them."

Sveta smiled ever so slightly and stood up. "I accept your apology and return it with one of my own: I'm deeply grieved for the death of your brother and I hope you do not hold it against us."

Unan returned the smile. "Good, then we can agree to begin on the right foot."

Sveta nodded. "I would enjoy that."

Both monarchs sat back down upon finishing their statements, causing Sveta to look around for the second time. Amiti was to her immediate right, and Eoleo to her left. Wo sat next to Emperor Unan while the McCoy's sat directly across from them. Mia, Ivan, Susa and Kraden filled in the other seats.

Sveta stopped as Eoleo stood up straight. He cleared his throat and then spoke. "I just wanted to say, that I know I'm not respected, nor should I be. But I wanted to extend my apologies to all ye good folk. Champa is in deep state of disrepair, and I had scant options to save it. Even now its still crashin down…" Eoleo ended his impromptu speech and sat down.

Sveta wasn't sure what to say, if anything, and decided to simply clap. Soon enough the others joined in, and Eoleo smiled as he looked down quietly.

While she applauded, Sveta finished a scan of the room, noting Karis standing just behind Lady McCoy, along with Matthew and Tyrell on the other side of the room. Himi and Rief were also here, standing near the front of the door, and talking quietly amongst themselves.

Sveta returned her attention to the summit just as Mia the Great Healer finished speaking.

"… and we will help you as best we can." The Great Healer said as she to Eoleo.

"Thank you, Miss Mia. I truly appreciate that." The pirate replied in a genuine politeness.

Sveta smiled. He must be sober for once; otherwise, there wasn't any way he'd be so polite.

"Well that was heartfelt, but let's continue on to actual business. Who is going to return my empire to me?" Emperor Wo of the small Kaocho Empire questioned.

"You have your kingdom," said Amiti. "And that is all that you need." There was venom in his voice, but Sveta doubted anyone other leader heard it… none of them knew Amiti as well as she did. Okay well, Eoleo might, but he was sober, and probably not picking up on anything. Wo glared at Amiti for several moments, so perhaps he noticed the venom in Amiti's usually passive voice too.

Eventually though, Wo continued. "I was wronged two decades ago after the death of my beloved brother, Emperor Ko, when in a bloody move of devastation, Emperor Unan brought forth a wretched revolution against me, the fair and rightful ruler of Sana. The resulting revolution allowed for the _Beastmen_ to rise up against your own brother Kuan and kill him." Sveta could tell that Wo ranted Beastmen with pure hatred. She could sense it.

"Hey!" Sveta shouted, standing up. "I will not be treated with such racism."

Wo calmed quickly. "I apologize, Queen Sveta. I meant no offense."

A quick scan around the table revealed puzzling looks from everyone. It was, at that moment, that Sveta realized she has involuntarily used Spirit Sense. She used it once more quickly.

_A total lie_ Sveta thought, regarding his apology. "I accept your apology." She replied, sitting down. She couldn't call him on it again. People would distrust her.

"As I was saying. The Beastmen rose up and killed Governor Kuan and claimed Morgal for themselves. Further, you stole my lands, money, and title."

"Stole is incorrect. I brought peace to the land." Emperor Unan replied.

"Through war?" Wo questioned. "Is that truly peace? And besides, wouldn't a peaceful Ascension to the throne have brought peace as well?"

"Peace requires war." Unan replied. "And Sana hasn't had war in more than decade because of it. And as for your reign being peaceful just look at the incursions against Ayuthay. They've done nothing against you, and yet you brought war against them."

"That is hypocritical. I did nothing against you yet you brought war against me." Wo retorted, crossing his arms.

Sveta had to admit, his reasoning was plenty valid. Unan and Wo had both made mistakes.

"Did you know that I wrote Emperor Ko's will for him?" Unan questioned. "While he was dictating it for me, he mentioned that he wanted complete control of Ei-Jei. His will also was to institute a new law requiring the constant acquisition of land until Ei-Jei was completed, then all of Angara, then, all of Weyard. You would have attempted that."

"You have no proof of that." Wo replied. "Did you know my brother beat me? Why would I follow his way?"

Sveta was curious, and once again decided to fact check Wo via Spirit Sense. _Another lie, typical Wo_, Sveta thought.

_ "_But this is all beside the point." Wo stated definitively. "Despite the grievous wounds inflicted on me from Emperor Unan, I am willing to forgive Sana and the rest of you for that in exchange for something."

"What is this something?" King McCoy questioned, speaking up for the first time.

"I want Morgal. And in exchange, I will never attack Sana, Ayuthay or Passaj again." Wo revealed.

"Heck no!" Sveta answered instantly.

"Will you really allow the Beastmen to govern themselves as if they were a real nation. They survive now because we tolerate them. Alone they may defeat us, but together we can conquer them. We can return them to their rightful place. And as an additive bonus, War will be nullified. I will not war against you. And the rest of you will have your land, with a new work force to use for constructs." Wo spoke with a convincing tone, but Sveta ignored it.

"You cannot do this. Morgal is free, and I will not let any of you take it. We will fight to the last man. We would rather be eradicated than enslaved again!" Sveta screamed.

Wo turned to shout, but so did just about everyone else. The room flew into a fury as voices covered each other and nothing was being done. Sveta paused her tirade and glanced at Emperor Unan. He held a face of contemplation. He was considering it.

Considering selling out Morgal in exchange for peace.

Sveta snarled as fury overtook her. Yet something stopped her. She wasn't sure what, but somehow, her anger was disrupted and she once more looked around the room, peacefully watching. Meisa, Wo's attendant had entered the room during the uproar, and was making her way behind Wo.

"_**SILENCE**__!"_ Kraden declared, as he slammed his staff loudly into the ground and sending a shockwave of vibrations through the room.

Everyone stopped shouting instantly. "Blatant racism will not be tolerated King Wo. Sveta, will you relinquish Morgal to Wo?"

"No."

"Then it is settled. Get over it King Wo." Kraden replied, sitting back down.

Wo stood up completely enraged. "_You dare think they you can speak in that tone? I command respect an-_"

And then, everything went to the Void.

Meisa, just behind Wo, brandished a vibrant knife with the faintest glow of green. Moving as fast as the eye could see, she plunged the knife into Karis' ribcage, sending the Jupiter Adept tumbling to the ground in pain. In one fluid motion, the woman ripped off her cloak and flung three throwing knives into King McCoy, two I the chest and one directly in his neck. The Woman stood up, and Sveta realized with horror that it was Chalis, the Grand Manipulator.

Enraged, Sveta instantly transformed into her Beastform. Moving as fast as she could, Sveta slashed at Chalis, who blocked the block with her claw gauntlet. Sveta swung twice more, striking with a passionate fury. Each time, Chalis was forced back, until she was against the wall. Then, Sveta moved faster than she knew she could, and crashed into Chalis and through the wall.

The duo started to free-fall, so she simply reached her arm up, and luckily enough Matthew was there, taking her hand and narrowly catching her. Sveta sighed in relief and watched as Eoleo leapt through the opening in the wall after Chalis. The Queen quickly changed back to her normal form in order to alleviate some of her weight, it was then that Sveta realized she had once again ripped up her dress upon transformation. Blushing, she sighed as Matthew pulled her up.

-Below

Eoleo landed with a loud thud and a crack in the pavement. His trademark smirk shifted into a frown; before him stood not just Chalis, but Blados as well. How the male General had arrived too, Eoleo didn't know. But he was itching for a fight. Raising a single hand, Eoleo unleashed a powerful Searing Beam at the Generals, who swiftly dodged the blast.

Eoleo rushed forward, and realized that he didn't have his Herculean Axe. With a swift grunt, he ducked beneath Blados' blow and threw a punch, striking the General in his chin and knocking him back. Eoleo leapt back and unleashed two Beams, one from each hand. Chalis managed to dodge hers, while Blados narrowly deflected it with his sword.

The pirate ducked around and turned, narrowly stopping Chalis from plunging her blade into his back. Eoleo followed that up by kneeing her in the stomach and then leaping back just as Blados swung his sword. Summoning up more Psynergy, Eoleo unleashed a massive Searing Beam at the duo, striking both and launching them back into the palace walls.

Blados responded by scowling and then sprinting forward swinging his blade in a cyclone. Eoleo leapt back, dodging each blow, until he was backed against a tree. The pirate dove forward and rolled, and was narrowly nicked on his back. Eoleo grunted and rolled back onto his feats, narrowly dodging Blados' strike.

Standing back, both swordsmen paused, and stared. "Your team of 8 narrowly defeated me. How are you supposed to do it alone," Blados questioned. "And without a weapon?"

Eoleo snarled and unleashed another Searing Beam. Unfortunately, Blados ricocheted it off his blade and into Eoleo's thigh.

Eoleo screamed instantly, and then cursed as he took a step back. "Nice move." He commented, realizing that perhaps he'd actually gotten in over his head.

Blados grunted. "I've improved."

"As have I."

Blados stopped and raised a hand. At first Eoleo thought Blados was waving, then the sailor realized that Blados was summoning water from the fountain nearby. Eoleo countered by summoning a Dragon Fume and smashing it into the incoming hydro's of water, transforming them into steam.

"Eoleo stop."

Eoleo looked around curiously, he felt compelled somehow… to find the voice. Seeing in the distance Chalis, the pirate simply watched.

"Stay still." She shouted.

Eoleo obeyed, she was so pretty, with her fitted clothing leaving little to imagination.

Blados advanced, but Eoleo ignored him. He had a pretty girl to seduce. The swordsman advances right up to Eoleo and lifted his blade.

"I didn't need her help." He said, but Blados didn't sound so sure.

"EOLEO WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING?" A voice vilely asked.

"Abigail? Abigail. Abigail!" Eoleo's mind returned to its' senses just in time to avoid Blados' decapitation strike.

"Snap out of it sailor!" She screamed at him as she sprinted towards Chalis with a cutlass in one hand and a herculean axe in the other. "and take your stupid axe!" She demanded, tossing it to him.

Eoleo didn't pause to think about how she got it.

Reacting with uncanny speed, the pirate charged forward and caught the Herculean Axe. Eoleo turned and blocked Blados' next strike, before smashing into the swordsman, and swinging the axe down. Blados leapt back as quick as possible, and then unleashed Ice Missiles at Eoleo.

The pirate destroyed each one, but when they finished coming, Blados was gone.

Confused, Eoleo turned around and saw Abigail fighting Chalis, along with twenty other pirates. They were handling her alright, but Chalis wasn't even trying; Eoleo could tell from her stance. They locked eyes for the briefest of moments, and then she fled. The pirate rushed forward, but was too late, by the time he reached his fellow Champans, Chalis was gone.

_-In Meeting Room_

"Rief, get over here now! I need your help for this." Mia cried out, as she set Karis flat on the ground. "Himi, go get me a sterile knife, two warm towels, and some needle thread. Hurry go, now! Piers, Amiti stick around, we may need your help to sustain Karis."

The various Adepts all crouched in a circle around Karis, watching her like hawks.

"What do you want me to do mom?" Rief asked as he crouched directly before his Jupiter Adept friend.

"Start taking off her jacket and shirt, I need to see the extent of the damage." Mia said, as she checked her pockets for something. "Piers, Amiti start Plying her."

Rief struggled for a moment, unsure if modesty mattered. Ultimately though, the young Adept decided that her life mattered more. Quickly, Rief un-buttoned her bloodied jacket and slipped it off, tossing it to the side. Then, he pulled her shirt up and tossed it too off to the side.

Karis only had a bra on now, and it was bloodied from Chalis' strike. Rief stared for a moment, it left little to imagination, but then he re-centered himself on the task at hand.

"Now what?"

"I'm going to use my Psynergy to slow her bloodloss. You need to cut the wound larger so we can see the extent of the damage." Mia commanded.

Rief nodded. Taking the sterile knife that Himi had just returned with, he meticulously sliced the thinnest of cuts on Karis' ribcage, until he and Mia could see the damage.

The knife that Chalis had used was poisoned. Luckily, it appeared that the knife had only chipped into the bone, which meant that for the most part, only one of Karis' ribs was poisoned.

"Take the knife and cut through the bone, we've got to get out of there before it spreads." Mia commanded.

Rief nodded his head and began to cut into the rib, unfortunately, Karis awoke right then with a bloodcurdling scream. It was a simple miracle that the knife hadn't sliced anything just then.

"Hold her down, and put her shirt in her mouth." Mia shouted.

Piers responded, pressing her forearm down on her chest, and stuffing her shirt into her mouth.

Rief continued once again, sawing through the bone slowly. He could still here Karis' screams, but they were muffled, and not nearly as bad as before. The younger healer realized with a start that Matthew and Sveta were using their painkiller techniques on her.

Rief sighed in relief as one end of the rib was finished. Slowly and steadily he began sawing through the other one. Momentarily, Rief glanced at Mia; she was deathly pale, likely expended the full amount of her Psynergy. Rief sawed with increased vigor, until finally, he cut through the rib and pulled it out.

It was at that moment that the healer looked at his work. Before, Karis had had a slit in her side that was pouring out blood. Now there was a gauging hole in her side that was miraculously not bleeding. Rief placed his hands on the hole and poured the Purest of Plies into his friend, restoring the muscle, fat and skin to a pale white scar.

"It is finished." Rief said leaning backwards and nearly falling unconscious.

"Thank goodness!" Amiti exclaimed as he reached down and locked lips with Karis.

"I love you." Amiti claimed … and everyone heard him.

_**Author's Notes: **_Wow that one was a doozy haha. I like this chapter though. Sorry it took me so long guys. I thought this one turned out really well. So let's make a few notes real quick shall we?

|King McCoy is dead. || Karis just got shanked. ||| Amiti just admitted that he is in love with a non-Ayuthan in front of the empires of Angara.

Quite the doozy of a chapter. Tell me what you guys think, please. I really appreciate each review that I receive. Thanks for reading!


	15. Reactions

Chapter 14: Reactions

"I love you too." Karis whispered into Amiti's ear, unsure if it was a lie or not.

Karis glanced over Amiti's shoulder to see Tyrell walking out of the meeting room quickly. She felt a pang of guilt at the sight. She knew that he'd left Amiti's vessel because of her and Amiti's romance. So, she felt like she was almost… betraying him by kissing Amiti.

_I should have told him_, Karis declared in her mind. _He deserved that much._

"Now what is this?" King Wo bellowed at the young couple. "You think you can marry some commoner King Amiti? I believe that is against Ayuthan law. If I remember correctly the Ayuthan King must marry royalty."

"Who said anything about marriage?" Ivan stumbled out. "Karis is only twenty, not nearly old enough for marriage."

"If they weren't getting married they wouldn't be saying I love you to each other!" Wo grumbled loudly.

Karis began to tune out her father and Wo, as she slowly attempted to stand up, only for her legs to fail and crash into Amiti's lap.

"Just lay down for a bit Karis, you're gonna be alright." Amiti calmly explained, running his hand through her hair.

Karis smiled briefly, and rubbed his check gently.

"NO! They cannot be allowed to be together! It goes against the most ancient of Ayuthan tradition and rituals." Wo bellowed.

The Jupiter Adept groaned loudly. "Amiti, can we please get out of here?"

Her boyfriend nodded. "Of course."

Reaching down, he picked up Karis and carried her out of the room.

"Amiti follow me. I'll lead you guys to the hospital room, and I'll make sure to post some guards so that no one disrupts you guys." Himi said as she jogged out of the room and motioned for the couple to follow.

Karis smiled. "Thanks Himi." She whispered.

Himi beamed as she slipped through a doorway and up the stone staircase. Karis leaned her head into Amiti's muscular shoulder and just closed her eyes and all her worries disappeared.

_-Tyrell's Room_

"Tyrell you in here?" A voice asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, come on in Old man." Tyrell answered from his position on the bed.

"I noticed that you left rather early. Are you alright?" The old man, Kraden, asked.

Tyrell nodded curtly. "Yeah, just wanted some time to rest."

"I can tell." Kraden mentioned, motioning to the completely untouched bed. "Looks slept in."

Tyrell rolled his eyes, annoyed at being caught in his lie.

"Want to talk?" Kraden questioned.

"No."

"Will you talk?"

"… Fine." Tyrell began. "Since I was young, I've had a crush on Karis, and seeing her with Amiti is annoying to me. And well, seeing her say that she loves Amiti really grinds my chops." Tyrell admitted.

Kraden chuckled. "That's all your problem is? Ha! And here I thought you might be worried about the safety of Angara!"

"Well of course I am, it's just I don't know what to do with that." Tyrell protested.

"Don't worry, Tyrell, I'm only joking." Kraden answered with a coy smile.

Tyrell launched a glare at the wise sage, and then fell back into a chair, groaning. "What am I supposed to do?"

"With what?" Kraden questioned.

"Karis and Amiti!" Tyrell answered, leaning forward.

"What about them?"

"Their relationship." Tyrell answered.

"Do you want to destroy it?" Kraden asked.

"Yes… No… I don't know. All I know is that it hurts me!" Tyrell exclaimed.

"What about it hurts you?"

"Seeing them together, I just get worked up and angry." Tyrell answered.

"What specifically upsets you?"

"Seeing Karis being there with him."

Kraden laughed. "You don't see it do you?"

"See what?"

"You're in love with Karis." Kraden answered instantly.

Tyrell's jaw dropped in shock. "Bu… I…. Wha… Bu… Oh dang you're right. What do I do then?"

"Telling her would be a good idea. After all, since they've admitted their love for each other, it's likely that Wo will put pressure on them to be married. You're running out of time."

"Oh, *******, Sol." Tyrell cursed, leaning back as a his grave chances running out.

_-Medical Room_

Karis woke up slowly, blinking her eyes and looking around tentatively. She grunted with pain almost instantly, but managed to keep it somewhat quiet. Her ribs felt as though they were aflame. Amiti was sitting in the corner, sleeping. The room itself was small, with a curtain giving herself some privacy from the nurses and doctors she could hear nearby. In the corner was a bathtub, filled near to the top with bubbles and water. Karis sat up and rubbed her eyes, obliterating her sleepiness. With her fatigue extinguished, the Jupiter Adept realized with a start that she was burning up and sweating heavily.

Karis slipper her heavy covers to the ground and barely managed to suppress a scream as she saw that her bra and pants were heavily blood stained. The Adept carefully looked at her boyfriend, to ensure that he was actually asleep, then unhooked her bra and tossed it into a trash bin in a separate corner. Then, noting her bloodied pants, Karis slipped out of then and dropped the blood-soaked clothing into a trash bin. Karis then took three light strides over to the bath tub, and carefully stepped in.

Karis let out a slight gasp at the temperature of the water; it was freezing cold, but that actually felt nice considering her likely high fever. Karis closed her eyes and ducked into the water, allowing its icy temperature to soak her skin in an icy ecstasy.

After a full minute beneath the water, Karis finally came up and released her held breath. Karis smiled as she felt her hair soaked properly for the first time in weeks. Karis glanced over at Amiti, the sleeping king, and smiled gently. He'd stayed here through the night.

"Oh, Miss Karis, you're awake. Is everything to your satisfaction?" A maid servant asked.

Unfortunately, the servant surprised Karis, and caused to inhale swiftly, and awaken Amiti.

Karis shook her head. "Everything is to my liking. However, I would appreciate it if you could bring me an extra set of clothes would be nice."

"Of course mistress, I'll return swiftly."

Karis returned her attention to Amiti, who was covering his eyes intently.

"Amiti." Karis started, giggling slightly to herself at the blush upon his face. "You can open your eyes, the bubbles more than cover me."

Carefully, Amiti peaked out from behind his hands.

"Really, it's fine." Karis said, a warm smile across her face.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?" Amiti questioned.

"I feel fine." Of course, her ribs picked that exact moment to flare its pain.

Karis cringed as the pain shook her.

"Karis!" Amiti exclaimed.

"I'm fine. My ribs just hurt a bit. That's all."

Amiti shot a disbelieving look.

"I promise." Karis said, with complete honesty in her voice.

The Mercury Adept nodded and withdrew his complaint.

"Lady Karis, is everything alright?" Questioned the maid from before.

Karis nodded. "Just fine."

The maid nodded. "I've brought you some clothes, and the doctors have requested that you see them so that they can apply some residual healing bandages to you."

"I thought Rief healed her?" Amiti asked.

The maid nodded. "He removed the primary source of the poison and saved Lady Karis life, but small bits we're still across her ribs. The doctors said part of the knife chipped off and shattered within her."

Amiti nodded. "Thank you for the information."

"My pleasure. Lady Karis, if it is okay with you may I bring in the doctor?"

Karis smiled and nodded. "Yes go ahead. I'll dry off and put on some clothes."

"As you wish." With that, the maid disappeared.

Amiti just sat there quietly.

"Um Amiti, can you turn around or something while I get out?" Karis asked awkwardly.

Embarrassment shot into Amiti's cheeks and he instantly followed her wishes. "I'm sorry Karis!" He shouted.

"It's fine." Karis said, as she carefully stood up and used the towel to dry off her body.

After a minute or so of that, Karis got out of the tub and picked up the white silk undergarments and put them on, then the Jupiter Adept put on the beautiful white robe she'd brought as well. Karis was mildly embarrassed by the length of it; it barely reached the middle of her thighs, and showed a wretched amount of cleavage.

"Excuse Lord Amiti, but the doctor prefers to work without third parties present." The maid spoke up.

Amiti traded glances with Karis, who gave him a look saying: do not leave.

"If he's just here to apply bandages, I can have Amiti do that for me." Karis explained.

"Very well, if you so wish that Lady Karis." Spoke the maid.

"Now Karis, this shouldn't take long at all. I'm just going to check your ribs, and then wrap them in the herbal bandages that should negate the poison and rid you of the pain." Amiti explained gently. "Now I don't mean to embarrass you, but I'll need you to remove your bathrobe so I can apply the bandages."

Karis nodded and slipped off the robe, standing in the room in only her underwear. She gulped slightly. It was a little awkward. Luckily, Amiti was entirely professional, walking directly to her ribs, and then studying them carefully. He pulled out a potion and carefully applied part of it directly to Karis' ribs, and then poured the rest on the bandages he'd brought.

Unwrapping the bandages, he began to wrap them around Karis' waist. The process was fairly quick, and soon enough the doctor was done, easy as that.

"Thank you Amiti."

"Oh it was my pleasure to get to help such a beautiful girl."

Karis smiled at his complement and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Karis… I know this isn't the right time to talk about it, but Wo raised a good point. It is an Ayuthan ritual that one must marry nobility, and for all your perfections, you aren't a noble. I don't know what to do." Amiti admitted.

Karis sat back and thought, (putting on her clothes as she did so). "I've got an idea."

"What?"

"Well, dad is basically the king of Kalay, so I'm kinda the princess of Kalay. We just have to ask dad to make it official. He could even make me a noble just so we could get married!"

Wait, what was Karis saying? Two weeks ago she hadn't ever thought of marriage coming soon. She had wanted to travel the world and have adventure. Be a hero, have another journey. Not settle down and become a house wife. That sounded… awful.

"That's ingenious Karis!" Amiti bellowed, plunging his lips against Karis' in a deep kiss.

Yet somehow, Karis couldn't shake the horrific feeling in her gut.

_**Author's Notes**_: Happy New Year Everyone! I'm sorry I've been gone so long… but I've scrapped my other long term story, which means that Sparks and Sacrifice is now my main fanfiction project! I kinda liked this chapter a lot, which happens with nearly every chapter I write. Not be prideful or anything. I just get… excited I guess? Anyway Review Responses!

_**SkullRising: **_I deeply appreciate the reviews, and especially the critiscm. After all, I can't get better unless I know what I'm doing wrong. As for what you we're saying, I think that I get better at avoiding that trap the further I go. Anywho, Thanks for the Review!

_**Anubis9 lord of death:**_ I'm glad you're so invested in the story. I'm honestly unsure of how to answer your review other than to say keep reading. And thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them a ton!


	16. Alliances and Boycotts

Chapter 15: Alliances and Boycotts

_-Deep in the Castle_

Abigail sighed and woke up. Her room was rather luscious and large, something she marveled at, and while she was forced to share the room with three other Champans, it didn't matter to Abigail too much.

Abigail sighed as the sleepiness wore off. Sitting up, she saw her three pirate roommates, all sleeping together in one bed, as Abigail had forced them to. The female pirate slipped out of the bed quietly. Keeping the other guys quiet would be quite beneficial towards getting ready for her breakfast date with Eoleo.

Abigail walked over to her dresser and put on her undergarments. Next, she slipped on her pants and skimpy white tank top.

The pirate went through the door and down a hall. Eoleo's room was on the opposite side of the castle, which meant lots of walking. Luckily, it kept Abigail in shape. Just as Abigail made it about half-way through the castle, she heard some voices.

"Why did you ask me here Queen McCoy?" A voice questioned.

"It's time for the conclave to begin again, Wo." Queen McCoy answered, not even three days after the death of her husband.

"Are you sure Queen McCoy? The latest attack on us was but two days ago." Emperor Wo probed.

Abigail carefully peered around the corner.

"I know, we'll wait until tomorrow of course." Queen McCoy smiled, and then leaned in close to Wo. "I seek your support on a particular matter."

"And what would that be?" Wo asked.

"I want to crush Morgal." Queen McCoy bluntly stated.

"I cannot commit forces to you Queen, I lack the necessary army for such a purpose." Wo answered diplomatically.

"Not militarily, I want to boycott them, crush their economy, and then when the time arises, we will crush their souls. Besides everyone know you have the hidden legion just waiting."

To Wo's credit, he managed to not react to the insinuation.

"Very well Queen McCoy. I'll join you in your boycott of Morgal and the filthy Beastmen."

What the duo didn't know, was that a certain blonde pirate had heard those words. Abigail slipped back down the hall, and upstairs. She fled down the hall and then back down the stairs, switching to a dead sprint to Eoleo's room. Eoleo needed to know the information that Queen McCoy had just revealed.

_-Near the Chambers of Emperor Unan_

Ivan followed behind Mia silently, nothing entering his mind to say. Instead he trailed behind her, his vibrant green cloak skimming the ground. They were going to meet with Emperor Unan; for some reason he'd requested their presence. Ivan had his theories, but preferred to keep them quiet for the time being.

They arrived at the chambers of Sana's Emperor, and stopped.

"Should we go inside?" Mia asked.

Ivan shrugged. "Knock."

Just as Mia moved to knock upon the door, it opened, revealing a handsome Sanan man in royal robes with graying hair; apparently two years had done a lot to him.

"Mia, Ivan, thank you for coming. Please, follow me inside." Unan motioned for the duo to enter. "Have a seat."

"Thank you." Mia said generously as she sat.

Ivan nodded and sat, his eyes kept on the Emperor.

"I've asked you hear today, because well. I don't know how to properly say this, so I'll just say it. Mia, Ivan, would you be open to a formal alliance with Sana? I realize that we already have trade agreements, but I believe that a formal alliance will be valuable to us all." Unan answered.

Ivan wasn't particularly surprised. Kalay and Sana had been friendly for several years, a formal alliance only made sense. The inclusion of Imil was slightly surprising, but not thoroughly so. While Imil did tend to stay on its' own, Kalay and Imil were incredibly close allies; stemming from Mia and Ivan's friendship. In fact, the more Ivan considered it the more the alliance made sense.

The telepath looked to his friend. _What do you think? _He telepathically asked.

_You're the political master; I'll follow your move _Mia responded.

Ivan nodded. "We accept."

"Good! I was worried for a moment there." Emperor Unan said jokingly.

"What about the other countries?" Mia questioned. "Shall we ignore them?"

Ivan and Unan exchanged a quick look. "Mia, based on the stories our children have told us, they are a close knit group. It seems likely that they shall side together…"

"And?" The Angel of Imil asked.

"And, Morgal and Ayuthay have powerful enemies. If we stay neutral, our nations can avoid a possible war."

"Couldn't we avert the war entirely if we backed Morgal and Ayuthay?" Mia inquired.

"We might…" Ivan started.

"…Or It may cause Bilibin and Kaocho to lash out and fight a pointless war that'll kill hundreds of thousands. Our safest decision is to remain neutral." Emperor Unan answered.

Mia sighed. "It's an impossible decision isn't it?"

Ivan nodded. "Yes, but unfortunately one that we are forced to make."

_-On the Docks_

"Why did you call this meeting Eoleo?" Amiti questioned, strolling up to the dock.

"I'll let you know once everyone's arrived." Eoleo answered in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

Soon enough Sveta and Baghi arrived at the docks near Eoleo's ship.

"Okay, Eoleo, enough stalling what is it?" The Fire Adept questioned.

"Abigail… Tell them what you saw." Eoleo commanded.

"I was walking the halls, heading back to my room, when I heard Queen McCoy and Emperor Wo speaking. They decided to join in an alliance… and boycott Morgal. But she said more than that, she said that they want to crush Morgal." Abigail revealed.

Sveta was shocked. This could crush Morgal. Conducting a boycott was preventive to War! And Queen McCoy's second statement all but confirmed it. Sveta sighed and leaned against a small post nearby.

"What am I going to do?" She pondered outvloud.

"Let's make an alliance of our own." Amiti answered.

The other three rulers looked over at him.

"If we combine our military might, we'll be a force that even Bilibin and Kaocho can't combat."

"I don't know… Queen McCoy seemed to imply that Wo had an army waiting." Abigail mentioned.

"I know." Amiti answered. "The Dark Legion of something like that. He's desired war ever since the Grave Eclipse, been building up for it since then too."

"If we all trade together, our economies can grow, the boycott won't matter." Baghi answered, smiling to the Beastwoman.

"But what about Bilibin? Their army vastly outnumbers mine. And we have an entire mountain range between our nations." Sveta answered.

"I can help with that!" Eoleo answered quickly. "My ships are the fastest in Weyard, I can send soldiers to you quick, and pick up Ei-Jei soldiers too."

Sveta smiled. "Abigail do you know why Queen McCoy is causing the boycott? I know she its really because she hates me, but what was her political reasoning?"

Abigail sighed. "I think it was because you're a beastwoman."

"If I can circumvent that, I could stop boycott entirely!" Sveta said.

"You have a plan for that?"

Sveta smiled. "I do now."

With those words, Sveta turned around to head towards the room of a certain Venus Adept that she knew…

_**Author's Notes:**___ First of all, I hope all ya'll review, please. It's a huge encouragement to continue writing, let me know what ya'll think! And we're back! With a cliff-hanger ending no less :p Hope you guys liked it. Any guesses on what Sveta's idea to circumvent the boycott of Morgal is? If you guess correctly, I don't know, I'd be happy. I'll say that. I would say the title of the next chapter, but it'd give away the idea, and therefore it will remain hidden…. For now. Mwahahahaha

Now onto Review Responses:

: Thanks for reviewing man. I know it can be a bit confusing, so let me know if you have any questions and I can let you know the answers.

Steamboat: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR IN DEPTH REVIEW! I appreciate it a TON. Hey man, just got through reading your story so far. I have to say im really enjoying it, and im hoping that you will update it soon.

I'm glad you've thought it was engaging, I greatly appreciate the praise.

I hope so. The culmination of that subplot should culminate in Chapter 25 if I remember correctly. So you have that to look forward to. Although I'll admit, it'll pay off even further than just Chapter 25.  
>Well, What I was attempting to tease was a kissing scene, which will be there at least somewhat. But yes there will be a major development for Matthew and Sveta, I can tell you that much.<p>

Really, I'm surprised you thought that Eoleo and Abigail were mature. I suppose they are somewhat. Once again, thanks for the praise.  
>I'm very glad you brought this up, because I didn't even think about it. My thought, is that geeknerd Rief sees a beautiful girl Himi, who has become quite outgoing. She has a crush on him, and just kinda goes for it. Because that's her newest personality. Hopefully I can pace it a bit better.  
>I'm humbled to see the praise and expectations you've given me; hopefully I can fufill it. Mia and Garet have at least one notable scene that comes to mind off the top of my head; but I haven't read through my entire outline in a while just yet, so there might be more.<p>

My thought process is that, Karis has this epiphany that she could really be happy with Amiti, and that changes her perspective with him. With Tyrell, and this is certainly the biggest flaw in Sparks of Sacrifice so far, but I made the argument about something rather trivial. My attempt was that It was supposed to be something that'd built up from their previous adventure; but I didn't write the previous adventure so it didn't work out correctly. If I were smarter I woulda had the fight be over the physical fight that Amiti and Tyrell get in.

Once again I thank you so much for the long constructive review you gave; I greatly appreciate it!

All in all im really enjoying the story so far and am eagerly awaiting your future installments. Just thought id drop by and give you some words of encouragement and thanks for what you have written so far. Thumbs up for a great story! :)

Cruel_Rain: I started writing this chapter just a little while after your review, so thanks for that. Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner than the previous one.


	17. A Royal Proposal

Chapter 16: A Royal Proposal

Matthew rocked contently in his hammock between to palm trees, he'd used his Venus Psynergy to create a covering over his head while it stormed outside. The result was an euphoric peace that the Adept hadn't experience in years. The wind soothed his ears as he lay there, while the rain drops occasionally breezed into his face. The temperature was perfect, and despite the storm, all was well. It was as though Matthew lay in the eye of a hurricane.

He heard footsteps in the distance, exaggerated thanks to the rain. They were moving rapidly, towards Matthew's hut too. The Adept simply waited, if it were an enemy they would have approached quieter. Whoever was coming wasn't worrying at all about stealth.

Matthew looked at the entrance and to his surprise saw his girlfriend, Sveta standing before him, her clothes entirely soaked and see-through.

"Sveta." Matthew began. "What is it?"

"Matthew." Sveta replied, with a smile.

Matthew sat speechless as Sveta seductively approached, placing a hand on his chest and leaning in for a passionate kiss. The Earth Adept was surprised.

"Thank you, but Sveta-"

The Beastwoman interrupted her boyfriend with another kiss, her hands sliding up his shirt.

"Sveta wait!" Matthew commanded. "What's this about?"

"Matthew, marry me." Sveta whispered into his ears.

"What?" Matthew shouted, stepping back.

"It makes perfect sense." Sveta replied.

Matthew crossed his arms. "Explain."

"Morgal loves you; they believe that you saved them from the Grave Eclipse. They compare you to the ancient heroes of old. They adore you. Second, I adore you." Sveta smiled, moving in for a kiss.

"I love you to, but why now Sveta?"

Sveta's smiled fluctuated briefly. "Kaocho and Bilibin are boycotting me, and their excuse is that they hate Beastmen. If I'm married to you, then they'll be forced to lift the boycott. It'll work on every level. Plus, you love me. And I love you."

Matthew smiled. "Yes."

"What?"

The smile grew ear to ear. "Yes!"

Sveta threw herself onto Matthew and hugged tightly.

Their faces plunged into each other passionately, growing with passion with each second that passed. Sveta ripped out her arms from beneath Matthew's shirt, tearing it off in the process. Matthew slipped off the shirt shreds and resumed his rubbing of Sveta's back.

After a few moments of caressing, Sveta and Matthew switched to her dress, taking it off incredibly quickly, leaving the Queen of Morgal in her undergarments. Matthew slipped his lips down, to Sveta's neck and tenderly kissed her.

Sveta moaned tenderly and lowered her hands to Matthew's belt, unhooking it easily and slipping them off with minor difficult. Matthew moved his lips down to her chest, kissing tenderly. Sveta responded by leaning forward onto Matthew, causing them to fall to the ground together.

They paused for a moment, and then laughed together.

Matthew smiled once again. "I love you Sveta, to Sol and back."

Sveta licked Matthew's ear. "I love you Matthew, to Luna and back."

Sveta fell on top of Matthew, kissing his face affectionately. Matthew kissed Sveta's shoulder, and rubbed his hands from her back down to her butt. The Venus Adept reached up to Sveta's bra and attempted to unhook it, but faced considerable trouble.

Sveta chuckled. "Here, let me help you with that." Reaching her arms up to her bra strap, Sveta unhooked it gracefully, and tossed it to the side of the hut.

"You're beautiful Sveta." Matthew answered.

Sveta smiled and pressed herself against him, kissing him on the lips.

"Hey Matthew! Did Sveta find you?" Eoleo shouted as he rounded to the hut.

"Well, looks like she found him." Abigail said, poking Eoleo in the ribs.

"Now that's my boy Matthew! Keep It up!" Eoleo bellowed.

Matthew grabbed the hammock and yanked it over himself and Sveta, covering the duo up.

"Better luck next time." Matthew said, as he leaned in to kiss her. "Fiancé."

_-The Next Day_

"You wanted to talk to me Matthew?" Tyrell asked as he walked into his best friend's room.

"Yeah." Matthew replied as he exited the balcony and walked towards the Fire Adept.

"Well what's up?" Tyrell questioned.

"I've got some news for ya."

"Go on."

"Me and Sveta are getting married." Matthew revealed quickly enough.

Tyrell beamed brilliantly. "Congratulations Bro! I knew it would happen! I told ya so."

The lifelong friends hugged tightly.

"So when're you getting married?" Tyrell questioned.

"Soon, and I want you to be my best man for the Wedding."

"I'm in. Who else is gonna be in it?"

"You, Eoleo, Rief, and Amiti. Sveta mentioned Karis, Himi and Abigail for bridesmaids." Matthew answered.

"Abigail really? Didn't they like just meet at the summit?"

Matthew smiled. "Yeah, but Sveta doesn't really have that many close girl-friends, and she wants to get married real soon, and since Abigail is here and all…. It just kinda works out."

"How soon are you talking?" Tyrell asked.

"Sveta was saying next week."

"Wow. That's soon." Tyrell contemplated.

"I know, but I think it's for the best. The Summit is practically on hold thanks to Blados' attack, which should give us just enough time for the Wedding, and then Wo won't have any excuse against trading with Morgal…. Besides, I love Sveta. The sooner the better." Matthew replied.

"I know." Tyrell answered, smiling shyly. "I wasn't criticizing, just pointing it out."

Matthew nodded. "I understand Tyrell. So you'll do it? You'll be my Best Man?"

Tyrell beamed, ear to ear. "Definitely."

_-In the Catacombs_

"How long until we begin Chalis?" Blados questioned as he sharpened his sword.

"A week, give or a take a day." Chalis replied.

Blados smiled darkly, soon vengeance would come, and soon he would be restored to his rightful place as General of the Tuaparang.


	18. The Side Story

Chapter 17: The Side Story

Mia sat peacefully at the southern tip of Yamata Island. As the Peace Summit was delayed she had a rather free schedule as of late. There were parties going on all over. Most of the country leaders were incredibly drunk, but Mia didn't do that. She didn't even touch alcohol. The last time she had, she'd ended up pregnant, with twins; and while Mia loved Nowell and Rief, she didn't want twins again.

Mia slipped off her sandals as she stepped lightly into the damp sand. The waves washed over her feet, sending tingles of the cold all over her body. Mia looked around precariously; making sure no one was around. Then, smiling, she slipped off her cloak, blouse and pants and waded into the water. She got about knee deep before stopping; the water was surprisingly cold now. Mia smiled just as a wave engulfed her. The Adept laughed as she raced through the water, deep into the ocean.

The chills calmed her nerves and released her stress. Mia sank deep into the ocean until she hit the sand at the bottom. Using a little bit of Psynergy, Mia created ice lenses to cover her eyes as she opened them, granting her sight beneath the water. The other nice little bit about being a Mercury Adept, was that Mia could hold her breath far longer than others. It didn't quite make sense to her, but Mia didn't over think it. She could swim beneath the waves for hours! Who wouldn't want that?

The Adept sank down as a large fish swam past her. Mia smiled and followed after it, curious where he was going. Mia unleashed a Geyser in order to launch herself faster after her new friend. The fish reached a coral reef and barely squeezed into it, leaving Mia unable to follow. Defeated, she decided to surface.

Mia took in a huge breath as she reached the surface. Looking around there wasn't much, mostly ocean. She could see the coast of Yamata, but nothing to detail. To her left was a small structure of rocks barely poking out. The Mercury Adept swam over there and climbed out of the water. She sat down to rest, tired from her ferocious swimming. Placing a hand to her forehead, Mia magnified her ice lenses, allowing her to see further, a neat ability she'd picked up from Piers several years back. Mia could barely make out where she'd left her clothes, glad that she wasn't lost Mia fell back and looked at the skies.

Mia's thoughts drifted back to her former lover, Garet. She'd thought they were going to get married. Then he'd gotten sick and cynical. Mia had lost everything she'd felt for him, and left him. She still missed the Garet that she'd fallen in love with; the one that had been her best friend. Isaac and Jenna had both said that Garet was back to his old hilariously charming self, but Mia couldn't believe. He'd changed so much… How was she supposed to believe that he could change back? The Garet she'd left wouldn't have ever done anything like the Garet she'd loved. The one who would gorge himself on food, fearlessly endangered himself, crapped jokes at inappropriate times, skinny dipped…

Mia looked into the water and saw that no one was around. Mia grinned to herself. The last time she'd gone skinny dipping had been with Garet, Jenna and Isaac thirty years ago. Mia unhooked her top and slipped off her bottom and dived into the water. She dove into the water and felt intense pleasure as the water soaked over her entire body. Mia descended deeper and deeper until she gently landed on the bottom. Looking up through her ice lenses Mia watched as the waves above her crashed all over. Mia giggled a little as she calmly relaxed at the bottom of the ocean.

Mia began to feel tired, and to avoid an accidental drowning launched herself to the shore. She swam over to the rock coalition she'd left her underwear only to find them nowhere.

"The waves must have knocked them over." Mia mused.

The Mercury Adept increased her lenses as she zoomed back over to the shore. Her clothes were still there, so she'd be fine. Mia reached the shore within minutes, and quickly clothed herself, drying her body with her cloak first. Once she was dressed, Mia went back into the castle, careful to avoid crowds. It wasn't obvious that she had no underwear on, but Mia had no intension of letting anyone find out.

Slipping into the castle was easy. Reaching her room took a little bit more effort, but it wasn't too difficult. She'd had to go up two extra floors and then back down stairs to avoid one group of people, but overall it was worth the price it took.

Mia opened up her door and slipped her cloak off, placing it on a hook right nearby.

"Nowell are you in here?" Mia questioned loudly as she walked into her room on the right. The mother and daughter shared a bathroom, but other than that everything was the same.

There was no reply, so Mia stripped off blouse and pants and tossed them onto the bed, grabbing a towel from the cabinet, Mia walked towards the bathroom to take a shower.

Ten minutes later, Mia shut off the water and dried off, then held the towel around her chest. She'd heard the door open and shut, and assumed that Nowell had arrived. Mia walked out of the bathroom and into Nowell's room.

"What do you want fo-" Mia stopped and screamed, bringing her hands to her mouth.

Piers was here, in only his boxers. Kissing Nowell, who was half-naked.

"MOM!" Nowell screamed, kicking Piers off of her and flipping backwards. "What're you doing here, and why are you naked?!"

Mia didn't reply, rushing out of the room as quick as she could. Entirely oblivious to the fact that her towel fell right as she'd screamed.

Mia groaned as she shut the door to her room. Dinner was definitely going to be awkward tonight.

_-The Roof_

Himi and Rief walked across the roof of the palace, holding hands. Rief wasn't really sure how it had started, but it didn't trouble him. It happened often enough with Himi.

Their relationship had been unlike any other, but Rief was enjoying it. Himi was honest, adventurous, happy, and compelling. Rief questioned why she liked him so much. Not that he'd ever ask that. He wasn't quite _that_ stupid. Instead he held her hand and watched the parties rage.

Himi leaned onto his shoulder, and Rief reached his arm around her side, a far more comfortable situation. Rief smiled and sighed. It was beautiful.

"Rief."

"Yes?"

"Why don't you kiss me?" Himi asked, genuinely.

"I… I'm scared you'll get mad at me." Rief answered.

"I'd never get mad at you Rief. Maybe frustrated, but not angry." Himi revealed.

"Really?"

Himi nodded. "Really."

Rief leaned forward and kissed Himi gently. She responded by sticking her tongue in his mouth, which genuinely shocked Rief. But hey, what else were tongues for? The couple devolved into animals as they attacked each other's mouths.

Little did they know that Kraden the Perverted Sage was watching.

_-The Beaches_

Eoleo laid on the beach buzzed from the alcohol. It had been a legendary party for the past few days, everyone was scared that each day would be there last. Eoleo didn't really plan on dying soon, but hey, you never know. And why not enjoy a good party while it lasts? Abigail was with him, lying in the sand. She was so beautiful.

Eoleo reached out a hand, hoping to hold hers; instead Abigail put a bottle of vodka in it. Eoleo laughed heartily and then downed the bottle. This is why he loved this woman. _Wait a second. Did I just say that I love Abigail?_

The pirate looked at his lover, her beautiful tanned body and gorgeous blonde hair. But that wasn't what made him love her. No, instead it was her heart. She was stubborn, and proud. And Eoleo loved it.

"I love you." Eoleo claimed to Abigail.

"You're drunk." Abigail replied.

"It helps me know that I love you."

"**** you, Eoleo." Abigail replied.

"You're angry, aren't ya?" Eoleo questioned.

Abigail raised her middle finger and rolled over.

Eoleo laughed as he hiccupped. She was perfect.

_Author's Notes:_ Wow it's been a WHILE since I've been here hasn't it. Sorry for the delay, but I had a ton of graduation stuff going on, and for this semester I've just been getting my writing flow about once a month, which doesn't help. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll manage to finish this ole fic. If I'm really lucky maybe the sequel could actually happen. Anyway, let's tease you guys so more. The next chapter is vitally important, bringing in a MAJOR new plot point. The chapter is titled _Return of the Prince_, and I think ya'll will like it.

Secondly, thanks to absolutely everyone who reviewed, and now I'll do some review responses:

Fictioncreator7898: Thanks so much for your reviews, I appreciate them a ton. A couple of notes; SaS takes place two years after Dark Dawn, so the characters are mostly 18. Next, Eoleo's a drunk and even when he thinks he'll stop, he doesn't. Abigail knows. Third, Kraden is a dirty old perv in my book, as evident of this chapter alone. Fourth, 17 Doesn't actually have Amiti asking out Karis, especially since they're already dating. But something does occur with him, I'll give ya that. Fifth, I hope you keep enjoying the story

Anon Dude: Glad you liked it

GS-lifelessonsinacartridge: No, the Wise One isn't the Master. If you're really curious you can read Mask of Pain (I don't recommend it, I did an incredibly awful job on it.) and you'll learn who The Master is. Or keep reading and I'll eventually review who it is.

Steamboat: I love your reviews, hopefully they keep coming.

CruelRuin: I'm SO SORRY for getting your name wrong. That was entirely my bad. I shoulda checked it again. War should be breaking out soon, so you'll be happy.


	19. Return of the Prince

Chapter 18: Return of the Prince

Takeru stared over the ocean, his powerful gaze concentrated at the coming horizon. It was a beautiful sight that reminded him of his journey's genesis.

He'd left Yamata to join the Crusaders of Light whose mission was to defend Yamata from darkness. That had been three years ago. Takeru could complain about it as much as he wanted, vent about the unfairness of Sol, talk about the culture of the Tuaparang (where he'd stayed for two years), but at the moment the only thing that mattered was getting to Yamata City; to his father.

The crew of _Angel_ was lite, but that didn't matter much for the Crusaders of Light, the most skilled and dangerous warriors of Yamata. In fact, the Crusaders were a better crew than any Takeru could had hired… not much of a compliment considering the amount of money he had.

Tuaparang had been like the underworld, surrounded in darkness with only artificial light at best. The poor were stuck in the ghettos, no chance of escape. The rich were forced to work too, but generally held better lives. The worst part was that the system worked. There was no crime, but no chance to rise without the direct interference of the High Empyror.

Which never happened.

The blimps carried letters out to agents out in Weyard, because of that Takeru had been able to send letters, always non-informative though. The Tuaparang always checked letters, which meant Takeru was non-descript, using code to let his father know he was years away from home, then a year, then months, until now.

Takeru had saved up enough money to bribe a guard into letting him stow away on a airship, and once he reached the mainland he fled as quick as possible.

Takeru scrambled, calling in an old favor to meet up with the remaining Crusaders of Light and take control of _Angel_ and finally, he was homeward bound.

But he carried dark news with him, news that would change all of Weyard.

Takeru looked up at the dawn and saw the slight crescent of Yamata before him. He would be back, soon.

_-Yamata City_

Karis awoke slowly, her head resting against Amiti's chiseled chest. She had fallen asleep while he read a book last night, and now it was apparently morning, meaning she'd spent the night. Karis slipped off the couch and walked out to the balcony, the sun was almost directly above her, meaning she'd over slept and it was noon.

Karis sighed as she leaned onto the rail, looking out at the beautiful ocean and waves spread out before her. She smiled at the elegant ship over the waves, white as snow, with gold trimmings all over. It was a beautifully angelic ship. The Jupiter Adept walked back into Amiti's room, picking up her vest, and slipping it on.

"I love you." Karis said as she kissed Amiti's forehead.

The King rolled over in his sleep.

Karis smiled and walked out of the room, heading to her own room to put on some new clothes and maybe train a little, she could certainly use the practice considering it'd been about two weeks without much practice. Plus, Blados and Chalis were in Yamata, Karis needed to be prepared just in case they returned. Matthew could probably help with that.

_-The Dining Room_

Matthew leaned back, incredibly satisfied with his lunch; A small meal, but high in protein for Matthew's muscles. Across from him, Tyrell was still stuffing his face full of food. The guy could certainly eat, that was one thing everyone agreed on.

Matthew glanced to his right, sensing Karis' life aura nearby.

"I'll talk to you later Tyrell." Matthew said curtly, standing to leave. Despite everything that had happened, it still wasn't great for Karis and Tyrell to meet.

"See Ya." Tyrell mumbled through his full mouth.

Matthew waved and walked to the front, where he met up with Karis.

She was wearing exercise clothes; a lime undershirt and black yoga pants, with the Tisiphone Edge strapped to her back.

"Care for some combat practice?" She asked.

Matthew shrugged and nodded. "Sure, where at?"

"Beach?"

Matthew nodded, turning to follow Karis. They walked to the west beach, outside of the main town and away from people. Combat practice could get pretty dicey between Adepts.

Karis unsheathed Tisiphone Edge and combat ready while Matthew took off his jacket, shirt and shoes, leaving him in just his grey pants, gloves and his trademark yellow scarf. Matthew turned to his friend and smiled.

"Bring it on." He motioned.

"With pleasure." Karis said as she raced towards her opponent, obviously lacing her body with Psynergy to move faster.

Matthew sidestepped, dodging the Jupiter Adept with utmost ease.

"You've got to try better than that." Matthew commanded.

Karis grunted and flew towards Matthew. The Hero ducked back and raised a wall of sand to protect himself; Karis crashed through it, nearly slicing Matthew's arm. Luckily the Venus Adept managed to draw the Sol Blade just in time to block the strike.

Matthew flipped himself backwards and angled his blade towards Karis. The Adept laced his body with Psynergy and raced invisibly fast to Karis, knocking her to the ground with his fist. The Jupiter Adept flew back to a palm tree, cracking the trunk.

Karis stood slowly and rose into the air, the winds picking up considerably. Raising her hand she launched several bolts of lightning at Matthew.

Matthew was fast, but not even close to being faster than light. The bolts struck the Adept, tearing through his body painfully. Matthew raised the Sol Blade, catching the last couple bolts, and avoiding the pain barely.

Matthew sped forward, knocking Karis out of the air and crashing into the ground. She rolled with it though, and emerged in a combat stance. Karis swung high with her light blade, which Matthew blocked with ease and care. Karis swung low and followed it up with a uppercut, something Matthew was unprepared for as he quickly back flipped away from the strike.

Matthew through a few spires at his friend and then sped forward, kicking Karis' shins and twisting at the same time, angling his blade right at her throat.

"Fine, you win." Karis said, rolling over and standing up. Using a quick application of Psynergy, she brushed the sand off of herself.

Matthew simply forced the sand off through his own Venus Psynergy.

"Do you hear that?" Karis asked as she sheathed her sword.

Matthew listened for a moment and could hear some shouting. "Yeah, let's go check it out."

The Earth Adept put on his tight undershirt, tossing the rest of his clothes over to Karis and her backpack. Then, the Adepts jogged towards the commotion.

Matthew slid through the crowds, Karis close behind him. Making his way through wasn't too difficult, simply requiring an occasional push or shove. The docks were filled with people though, and it took Matthew the better part of an hour before he finally made it to the front. Before him, Matthew saw a Yamantan soldier, talking with King Susa, Queen Kushinda and even Himi. The priestess looked over and saw Matthew, and waved him over.

Matthew walked over briskly, his undershirt tainted from sweat incurred in the practice duel.

"Matthew, hi!" Himi announced pleasantly. "These are my good friends Matthew and Karis. You guys, I want you to meet my brother, Takeru."

Matthew smiled, and reached out his hand to Takeru.

Takeru was wearing patched grey armor, obviously cheap, but sturdy enough to suffice Matthew assumed. The prince had long hair rolled up into a shoulder length pony tail. He had a small scar from his ear down his jaw. The Prince was taller than Matthew, but not significantly. Takeru was obviously a powerful warrior, Matthew could feel his soul radiate with Psynergy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Matthew said, holding out his hand, smiling.

Takeru glared momentarily, but then dropped a smile. "Likewise." Takeru looked back to his father. "King Susa I have urgent news, perhaps we should recline to the Royal Quarters?"

King Susa looked around at the crowd and nodded. "Let's go."

Matthew stepped back to let them pass, but Himi tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, I bet you'll want to see this."

Matthew looked at Karis, and then nodded, following after them.

Once they reached the throne room, Takeru glanced back at Matthew and then to his dad. "Father, is it safe to speak before them?" He asked, motioning to the Adepts.

Himi stepped forward, surprisingly. "I vouch for them both. I journeyed with them for six months and know them better than I know you Takeru."

King Susa nodded, and Takeru began speaking.

"I've spent the past year stranded on Tua City, a massive airship located past and below the Gaia Plateau. While there I managed to learn that they are planning a large scale invasion of Weyard itself, beginning with Angara. Because of certain events which I'm not entirely informed of, they shifted the invasion from Tonfon, to here, Yamata City. Apparently Tonfon is weakened, and they would prefer to use their surprise advantage on the toughest target in Angara, us."

King Susa seemed to pause to think and analyze what occurred. "When will they be here?"

"One week at best."

Susa turned to his personal guard. "Captain, go prepare our forces, war is coming." The captain nodded, and then scurried away. "Matthew, Karis, we would deeply appreciate whatever help you can provide us. Himi, can you seek out the Priestesses for us?" Himi nodded. "Kushina, please rally the Peace Summit, I need to tell them everything as soon as possible. Finally, Takeru, go bathe and rest, you've earned it.

_**Author's Note: **__I'm so sorry for how late this has been, but Summer is always busy and now I'm all moved in for college. Please review, I appreciate it a ton. That's all for now, thank you for everything._


	20. A Night Before War

Sparks and Sacrifice

Chapter 19: A Night before War

_-One Week Later_

Himi sat on the beach, Rief next to her. War was coming, and Yamata was probably doomed. The entire invading fleet of the Tuaparang was coming, and while thanks to the Peace Summit there were more forces here than usual, it would be nothing to stop the empire of darkness.

Himi could die.

It was a strange thought, A thought which hadn't cross her mind before. When she was fourteen, she hadn't contemplated the future, she'd engaged in the present. Even when the Chaos Chimera had appeared, and she was sure she'd survive. It hadn't really hit her what could have happen.

But she was older now, and she understood far more than before. She understood her role as a princess, and what that meant for her people, and she truly understood her role as an Adept. She was here to help people.

But that life, that purpose, could end so terribly soon, and Himi truly didn't want it to. She loved Rief and…

_I love Rief_ Himi considered. It was so true. He was a gentleman, kind and considerate, happy for her and always supportive, really just what she needed.

"Rief?"

"Yeah, Himi?"

"The Tuaparang are coming."

"I know." Rief slipped his arm over her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

Himi nodded. "I think we'll survive… but I don't want to regret anything if I don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Rief, I love you." Himi confessed.

Rief was shocked for a moment, but that quickly changed to a smile. "I… I love you too Himi."

Himi leaned forward and kissed him, unlike how she'd ever kissed him before; with desperate, frightened and passionate love. He returned with more furor than she thought he could muster. They fell into the sand together, their lips and lives interlocked.

_-Tyrell's room_

"Tyrell! Where are you?" Matthew shouted.

Tyrell sighed as he sat up from his bed. "What?"

"Do you still love Karis?" Matthew asked bluntly.

Immediately all fatigue or drowsiness erased itself from Tyrell's demeanor. He was looking all over the room, racing with thought and focus. "More than anything else."

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but you're my best friend, and I think you need to know." Matthew said, his tension anchoring itself as he sat.

"What is it?"

"Amiti is going to ask Karis to marry him, soon. If you want to have any chance of marrying her, you've got to get your act together and say something to her. As quickly as you can. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that their relationship will be broken apart."

Tyrell was stunned. He knew they were serious, but marriage? That seemed foreign to him. They had barely been dating three weeks and there was talk of marriage? Then again, in the world of Adepts, everything went quickly.

"What am I supposed to do Matthew?"

"I don't know, but this is your last chance, Amiti's asking her today."

_-Yamatan Wilderness_

Karis walked hand in hand with Amiti, heading towards the tallest point of Yamata, a mountain central to the island. The journey was supposed to last all day, a final date between the two before the Tuaparang arrived and everything went insane.

Secretly, Karis was sure that Amiti was worried about what would happen when the Tuaparang invaded.

No one was sure what would happen. Yamata could just be obliterated. Or, perhaps the Tuaparang would think they were still going to attack an unprepared Yamata and be destroyed. Karis didn't know, though somehow she was sure she'd survive. She'd survived two of their generals fused together with a king and chaos magic, how much worse could it get?

Karis and Amiti followed the path up the mountain, the beautiful vistas showcasing themselves out ahead. She could see for miles, but the clouds blocked most of the sky, leaving her slightly disappointed.

Within the hour, they had reached the top of the mountain.

Before them, Weyard revealed itself in all its glory. Karis took a few steps ahead, standing on the edge before the sharp fall. The Jupiter Adept leaned forward, using her Psynergy to force the winds to hold her up. The clouds were darker than before, perhaps even closer too. Teasing Amiti, she even had her skirt be blown up a little. She winked back at him. Amiti blushed and smiled back, not nearly as worried as he used to be over being lustful before her.

Karis walked back to her boyfriend and kissed him passionately. He slipped his arm around her back and pulled her against him. She slipped her hands up into his shirt, rubbing his back. Amiti moved down to her neck, massaging it with kisses. Karis moaned as he reached her shoulder.

"I love you Amiti." Karis admitted, her internal thoughts having built up.

"I love you too Karis!" Amiti exclaimed. "Karis, I brought you up here, because I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Karis asked.

"Karis, will you marry me?"

Karis was stunned. She loved Amiti, but this was progressing way to fast. Faster than she ever thought it would. She was so young, how could she get married this young? Why should she limit herself like that?

Karis opened her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say, when something came out of the clouds. She stopped and pointed at the sky behind Amiti. Walking to the edge, hand in hand, they watched as the Tuaparang Fleet emerged from the sky towards Yamata City.

Author's Note: Please Review guys! If no one reviews, I'm much less likely to get the next chapter fast, maybe even at all.

On another note, I went through my outline and decided to edit it down. Originally it was 66 chapters I think, but now its about 42 chapters all in all. To do this I had to cut out a major sub plot, so I thought I'd tell you guys here.

Originally, there was going to be a war across Angara sparked from the Tua Invasion of Yamata. Wo and Bilibin would've teamed up against pretty much everyone else. Passaj, and Ayuthay would've been very wounded, but ultimately, Wo and McCoy would lose, and Amiti would take control of Ei-Jei, and formed it into one nation of three cities. Bagho and Baghi would have been killed in the War. So too would Unan and Ryu Kou's sister. Tyrell would have eventually killed Wo in single combat, but be incredibly wounded.

The story is going to be much faster paced now, which could help or hurt the story. I hope you guys tell me what you think in a review! Thanks for reading!

This chapter is much shorter than I thought it would be, which kinda surprises me, but that's about it.


	21. Invasion of Yamata

Chapter 20: Invasion of Yamata

Amiti took a step forward, placing one hand on Tisiphone Edge. The dark clouds were air ships, from the Tuaparang.

"Let's go." He said calmly.

Karis nodded, spinning her Jupiter Psynergy and grabbing Amiti. Together they leapt off the balcony and calmly descended to the sandy floors of the Courtyard.

"We don't have long." Karis commented.

Even now a few Airships were rapidly descending towards the coastline. Around the couple, numerous Yamatan soldiers scurried about, readying battle lines and splitting into formation. On a hill nearby, Takeru and King Susa were speaking with their generals. Amiti and Karis raced there.

"King Amiti." One of the generals commented. "You should be heading towards the catacombs with the rest of the leaders."

"Nonsense. I am a Child of Vale, I can do far more to help out here than below."

"Let him do as he wishes, he is a king, you are not." Takeru said calmly.

"Of course! I apologize your highness, I did not mean to offend." The general offered with a bow.

"You're forgiven. King Susa, what is the battle plan?"

"If I may, father?" the king nodded. "Tuaparang obviously outnumber us at least five to one, and I suspect they have more airships on the way, more likely it'll be ten to one. The Yamatan Army has around four thousand soldiers, and the various Envoys have brought another thousand or so with them. We plan to split our five thousand into five divisions. The Envoys will hang back and guard the palace and catacombs, while the other four divisions will be split off with a general each. My father will command the Envoys, and I'll serve as the fourth general."

Takeru paused for a moment, before continuing.

"Yamata City has only three entrances, and I'm going to leave General Roaria to help defend those. The other three divisions will be spread out over the beaches, with one division over there." Takeru pointed towards the Sand Dunes on the far west of the city. "The other two divisions will file in together on the Sand Plains before us. If we can contain their forces to those two areas, then we should be able stop their reinforcements from arriving. At best we can push them all the way into the ocean, completely stomp them. At worst they push us to the walls of the city, where General Roaria's forces can reinforce us against the Tuaparang."

"Takeru, what's to stop an airship from dropping troops inside the city?" Karis questioned.

He paused, contemplating. "We'll leave a contingent of Venus Adepts in the city, if any airships get too close, we'll fling _Spires_ at them."

"That seems spotty…" Karis commented.

Takeru grimaced. "It's the best we have. Besides, the airline will get convoluted with the amount of airships they're bringing; few ships will arrive over the ship."

Amiti nodded. "Makes sense. Where can we be most useful?"

"Choose your place, if I pick any for you, it'll seem political in nature." King Susa firmly stated.

"I understand. I think I can be most helpful near the Frontlines." Amiti said.

Karis nodded.

"Let's go."

-The Frontlines of the Sand Plains

Karis and Amiti slid hand in hand as the Airships arrived. To their left and right, Yamatan soldiers stepped up on the Western edge, near the Dunes, stood Himi and Rief, ready to fight.

Karis squeezed Amiti's hand. "It's time."

The first Airship opened its compartments, and dozens of Tuaparang Soldiers leapt out, racing towards the Yamatans. Karis summoned up her Psynergy and unleashed a _Spark Plasma_burning up the moist waters and electrocuting several of the Tuaparang Soldiers. The bodies fell to the ground, covering up the water and letting their brethren step across alright. Arrows shot out from the Airships up above, piercing the Yamatans, and striking down a few. More importantly, Karis noted, it belayed her from stopping the second wave of soldiers.

Easily a hundred Tuaparang Soldiers hurried across the burning glass of the front lines and towards the armies, the Yamatans responded by rushing after their foes. Karis grunted and ran forward, using her sword to slice up an oncoming soldier. To her right, Amiti jabbed Tisiphone Edge into another soldier's heart, killing him immediately.

Karis looked at an Airship beginning to rise and summoned a massive _Tempest _expending lots of Psynergy in the process. The _Tempest_ crashed into the Airship and sent it spinning into the ground, where it erupted into flames. The _Tempest _continued forward, taking down another Airship before dissipating.

"Good work Karis!" Amiti shouted as he sliced across two foes, ridding them of their heads.

Karis nodded as she raced forward, to take on more foes.

-The Western Edge

Rief ran forward, crashing his mace into the Tua Soldier's helm, crushing it with an audible crack. Rief grimaced. War was dirty business. He didn't like it, and he didn't want to fight, but he would. After all, this was Himi's homeland, what else was he supposed to do? And, and these Tuaparang guys are strictly evil, killing them, badly, is exactly what needs to be done.

Rief gulped as he swung low at the next foe, shattering his kneecap and paralyzing him. Rief used a small bout of Psynergy to send a small _Ice Missile_ at the soldier, knocking him unconscious. The Mercury Adept glanced to his right, where to his astonishment was a dragon, being ridden by Himi. It breathed fire and melted away a dozen Tua soldiers, before leaping into the air and destroying a Airship violently.

"How can we lose with that on our side?" Rief questioned as he ducked back from the fighting.

The Dragon roared and violently crashed through another airship, sending it crashing into the ocean. Before it could crash into another though, a legion of arrows were launched at it from the Fleet. The Dragon tried to dodge, but there were simply too many.

Rief heard footsteps behind him and ducked, just in time to dodge a swipe from a Tuaparang soldier. Swinging up, the mace struck the soldier between the legs, killing his future children. The soldier let out a roar of pain.

"Sorry!" Rief exclaimed, kicking the man in the head to knock him out too.

Rief looked back into the sky at the dragon. Dozens of arrows were deep in it, and it was crashing quickly. Crashing, Rief noted. Another volley of arrows reached the dragon, and it simply disappeared.

"Himi's Psynergy must be up!" Rief exclaimed. Using his own _Glaciers_ Rief launched himself into the air, barely managing to catch her as they began to descend. The _Glaciers_ barely lasted long enough to cushion the fall. Luckily the Yamatan army moved forward to stop the Tua from reaching Himi.

Rief paused for a moment. _I thought of Himi before myself… I must really love this girl._

_-The Sand Dunes Three Hours Later_

Matthew breathed in and out, his lungs barely holding up. His stamina was drained, his Psynergy all but out, and the little that was left was amplifying his speed and strength, nothing he could actually use. Two arrows were sprouted in him, one in his shoulder, and one in the back. His clothes were cut and ripped, making him look deranged, but Matthew didn't care. This was war.

The armies were backed up against the walls now, Takeru's reinforcements were helpful, but there were just so many Tuaparang. Matthew had stopped counting the number of Airships after he reached 50, and still there were at least a dozen more. Each carried at least fifty soldiers, more likely a couple hundred. Sveta, Sol bless her, was powering through. Every time she felt weak she simply went into her Beast form and annihilated the immediate foes. It ended up being child's play for her. Despite that, she had been ripped apart from the Tuaparang as well. Arrows and cuts littered her furry body. It was brutal.

Matthew raced forward with the Sol Blade and sliced through two Tua soldiers, cleaving them into two halves. Rushing forward he launched two _Spires_ ahead, crashing through a torrent of enemies. Ahead, Sveta had been surrounded. Matthew raced as fast as he could, his Psynergy augmenting his natural abilities. As he reached his foes, Matthew unleashed a _Quake Sphere_ shaking his foes away. Matthew and Sveta tore apart the Tua easily.

"Are you okay?" Matthew asked, his lungs racing.

Sveta reverted to her normal form. "I'm surviving."

Matthew grinned. "We can do it."

Sveta leaned over and kissed him. Matthew ignored the taste of blood as they kissed.

Before the couple, a small contingent of four Tua Soldiers walked towards the walls. They were wearing matching black cloaks, and held unique swords.

Matthew gripped the Sol Blade tightly and sprinted forward, intent on slicing apart these fools.

The strike was blocked, and Matthew realized that this fight would not go quickly. He swung low, aiming for the ankle, but the Tua Soldier, no he must be a higher up, more like a commander, the Commander leapt over the blade, kicking off of Matthew's stomach to move away.

Matthew jumped back and analyzed the situation. Four Tua Commanders 3 male, 1 female, highly skilled and ready to kill. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but the Venus Adept was wounded, his Psynergy drained and body weak. Double that for Sveta. The chances weren't pretty.

Two Commanders leapt forward, one aiming high and one low. Matthew jumped over the low strike and blocked the high one, smashing the Sol Blade against the female commander's hilt. Matthew charged forward, shouldering her and tripping her back. Matthew moved to kill the commander, when her ally blocked the strike, sending him back. He grunted and inverted his stance.

Matthew jumped into the air and bonded Echo to his blade, swinging down with twice his might. The strike shattered the male Commander's blade, but the foe managed to dodge, left with but a stump of a blade. The female raced forward, her cutlass slashing at Matthew. The Earth Adept leaned back, but the weapon left a nasty cut across his chest.

Matthew's senses erupted in pain. His eyes blacked for a moment, but he forced them to remain open. Uses the absolute last of his Psynergy reserves, Matthew dissipated himself into sand. Moving through he shifted behind the male Commander and leapt out, the sand re-forming his body. Matthew came up swinging, cleaving the Commander's head in half.

The Venus Adept barely managed to catch the rash revenge strike from the girl, swinging his hilt at her head and knocking her to the ground. Matthew turned towards Sveta, and saw her clawing away at one Commander's throat while the other one jumped onto her back, stabbing her with a knife. Matthew raced towards his fiancé, wrapping his arm around the man's neck and forcing him off Sveta's back. Matthew beat the guy until his face was purple and he was completely unconscious. As much as he wanted to, Matthew couldn't bring himself to kill the unconscious man. Perhaps it was the wrong decision, but it just wasn't self-defense like all the other killings.

Matthew turned towards Sveta and took one step when he felt something cold and wet plunge through his chest. Looking down, Matthew saw a cutlass bursting through his chest, blood and muscles hanging out deliciously.

_Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait guys, College life is the busy life. Thanks so much for the Reviews! I truly do appreciate it. _

_To you guys asking me to make the story its original 66, I have one question. Would you prefer a completed 42 chapter story, or a incomplete story that goes longer and leaves you with no closure or anything? _

_Anyway, sorry for the cliffhanger, well actually no, but sorry ya'll have to wait. Hopefully these war chapters will live up to what people were expecting. Let me know what you think in a review. Thanks for reading guys._


	22. Last Orders of Blados

Chapter 21: Last Orders of Blados

Garet peered over the edge of the vessel, glancing as the convoluted landscape of Yamata ahead. Black blobs were attacking yellowish blobs, while huge Airships hung over the battle field, one even making it to the palace itself. Garet watched as several _Spires_ were launched into the airship, sending it crashing into one of the palace walls.

The vessel was moving quickly now. Isaac and Garet had bought it from Kalay, and sailed to Yamata as soon as they got the letter. Help was needed, desperately.

Garet leapt to the back of the ship. "Jenna, get over here!" He screamed.

"What is it?" She asked, stepping away from Isaac towards Garet.

"Use Cycling Beam to launch us forward. We need to be there now." Garet answered.

"Good call." Isaac commented from the bridge.

"All right." Jenna said, stepping towards the back.

In a magnificent display of her power, Jenna unleashed a massive _Cycling Beam_, propelling the vessel forward to an unfathomable degree. Using his Earth Psynergy, Isaac erected a ramp, sliding the vessel into the air and flying towards Yamata. The trio leapt out, Garet using his _Flare_ Psynergy to slow their descent. The trio crashed to the ground, a mighty crater left in their wake.

"Matthew's this way, come on!" Isaac shouted over the roar of combat; likely using his Earth Psynergy to sense Matthew's life force.

Garet glanced around for his son, but couldn't find him. Despite his worry, Garet was confidant of Tyrell, he could handle himself just fine.

The friends raced over the nearest dune, reaching its zenith just in time to witness Matthew being run through with a cutlass. Isaac and Jenna both froze for a single moment. Garet didn't. Using all his Psynergy to augment himself, Garet practically teleported to the Tuaparang warrior, slicing through her head. Nearby, Sveta was fighting off the last remaining Tuaparang Commander, a feat she was joined in by Jenna.

Garet bent down to Matthew. The kid was in dire shape. Garet counted two broken arrow heads in his back, at least a dozen cuts across his body, a nasty gash across his chest, and worst of all, a brutal hole in his chest. The boy had lost consciousness, Garet wasn't sure if it was from the shock, or stamina or what. Reaching into his pouch, Garet pulled out a Vial, pouring it into Matthew's mouth. None of the cuts healed.

"ISAAC!" Garet bellowed. "Get over here right now."

Without a word Isaac knew what to do. Channeling his Psynergy, Isaac used _Revive_, pouring healing Psynergy across Matthew's body.

For the worst and briefest of moments, nothing happened.

Then Matthew coughed out blood, a lot of it. But it was something.

"She must have stabbed him in the lung." Garet commented.

Jenna and Isaac nodded absentmindedly, their attention focused on Matthew.

"C'mon, we should bring him back to the walls to rest. This is no place for the injured."

"He's right." Sveta agreed calmly, breathing heavily as she held her bloody shoulder, from the angle Garet could tell she'd been stabbed there, though not too badly he assumed.

"Let's go." Isaac said, picking up Matthew in his arms.

They arrived at the Walls without much delay. Garet and Jenna eviscerated whatever Tuaparang got in their way.

"Queen Sveta!" King Susa exclaimed.

"King Susa!" She exclaimed "may I ask a favor?" Sveta asked.

"Surely!"

"Is there a place we can put Matthew down to rest for some time?"

"Miss Roaria, take this man to the Catacombs."

"Yes sir."

"King Susa… I'm alright. Promise. I can still fight." Matthew whimpered out.

"Nonsense, you need rest."

Matthew leaned on Sveta as the couple walked towards the Catacombs.

Garet and the other Warriors left, heading up to the wall of the city, which provided an excellent view of the war, allowing the Warriors of Vale to join up with Piers and Nowell near the eastern edge of the fighting.

"Mia, Jenna, Isaac! What're you doing here?" Piers exclaimed as he ducked beneath one strike and sliced apart a Tua soldier.

"You know, just saving lives and all that jazz." Garet replied.

"Garet! I didn't see you there." Piers ducked, striking his blade through a Tua soldier's sternum. "Welcome to the party."

Isaac smiled as he sent out an Earthquake. "Appreciate it. Now, let's deal with these buffoons."

In hindsight, it took about ten minutes to turn the tide.

The Warriors of Vale were strong enough to destroy any of their foes, including the Tuaparang Commanders, though that did require ones' full attention.

Unfortunately, the ground battle wasn't even the most important part. Above them, the copious Airships were beginning to lay siege upon Yamata City. It wouldn't be long now, until the whole city was razed.

"Warriors of Vale! To me." Isaac shouted.

Garet immediately unleashed a torrent of fire, launching himself towards Isaac and eviscerating a few of the Tuaparang. "What is it pal?" Garet asked.

"I have a plan to get rid of the airships."

"I'm all ears." Garet replied.

"Piers, I want you to Teleport us up to the Airships. From there we'll go about destroying the rest of them."

Piers nodded. His body began glowing for a brief moment, then each Warrior did as well, before bursting into energy and teleporting up above, to the airships. Once formed again, Garet immediately plunged his sword into the blimp. The Mars Adept looked over the edge as another Airship came into view. Smiling, Garet launch a ball of fire at it, setting the entire blimp aflame.

It burned to a crisp before it reached the ground. Garet smirked as his foes came crashing down. He froze as a BOOM of lightning burst across the skies. To his right, Garet saw Ivan's eyes glowing with Psynergy. The Lighting burst through three Airships, causing an explosion of energy to bust them apart, the remains falling harmlessly into the oceans.

"This is gonna be easy." Garet smirked as he and the Warriors of Vale annihilated the Legions of the Tuaparang.

_-The Catacombs, Concurrently_

Just as they stepped into the Catacombs a shadow burst forward and smashed into Matthew, launching him into the wall, and into unconsciousness. Sveta turned to face the shadow, and growled at it. The shadow unleashed a torrent of _Ice Missiles_ and Sveta realized it was Blados. She dodged the icicles as best she could, but one caught her in the thigh, tearing into it. Sveta screamed in pain.

Blados rushed forward, beheading Miss Roaria and the two attendants, and began choking Sveta. Sveta coughed for air, but was powerless against the strength of the Tuaparang General, especially in her weakened state. She feigned unconsciousness, slowing her pulse and heart rate through careful application of her Psynergy.

"Like taking candy from a baby" Blados grunted.

Sveta listened carefully as Blados picked her up and raced through the Catacombs secret passages, until he came topside. Feeling her head against his back, Sveta opened her eyes and saw copious destruction of Airships in the ocean. It was like Weyard itself was bruised. The ocean and sand were black and red, or in some parts purple.

Sveta was sprung from her thoughts when Blados began free-running towards… something. Sveta couldn't tell. They were moving quick though, about as fast as Sveta could move in Beast Form… which was fast. Abruptly they stopped, as Sveta felt Blados throw her far into the sand. She twisted slyly in the air, facing the opposite direction and seeing that Blados was leaping into combat against the Children of Vale. Unfortunately, she was grabbed from behind by a couple of Tuaparang Soldiers and pulled into a Tua Airship. Sveta threw a punch at one of them, and sent him flying backwards. The other one responded by smashed his foot into Sveta's head, and darkness enveloped her.

_-Right outside the Airship_

Blados watched as Rief leapt into the air, his mace swinging high. The Swordsman smiled as he jumped and kicked Rief to the ground, dodging the blow entirely. Blados rolled forward, swinging at Karis and Himi's ankles. They both jumped and launched powerful Psynergy bursts at Blados. The General leapt high into the air, as the bursts cancelled each other out.

The Mercury Adept rolled backwards, blocking Eoleo's massive axe strike. Blados leaned back in order to avoid Tyrell's own Darksword. Then Blados counterattacked. Pushing with much might, Blados sent Eoleo backwards, launching a few _Ice Missiles _after him in the process. Tyrell moved to attack again, but Blados unleashed a _Glacier_, sending the Mars Adept flying into the air. Blados rolled forward, blocking Amiti's strike, and then kicking Himi off the dune and rolling in the sand.

Blados grunted as he twisted backwards, simultaneously dodging Karis and Eoloe's Psynergy blasts. Amplifying his speed, Blados raced towards Eoleo, crashing into the Pirate. Summoning a ball of pure Psynergy, Blados unleashed it against his foe, crashing the pirate into the sand with a deep impact.

The Swordsman ducked and rolled backwards, parrying Amiti's blow with such force that the King dropped back a step. Blados followed it up with three sequential strikes, each getting blocked with relative ease. Blados kicked at the King's knee, while swinging at his eyes. Amiti leapt backwards, narrowly dodging the strikes. Unleashing a wave of pure Psynergy, Blados launched every combatant back.

Only a dune away, Blados was shocked to see Matthew slowly striding forward, the Sol Blade dragging in the sands.

Blados' world was torn apart when he heard a strike coming at him. Turning around just in time to see it, Blados could only watch as Rief crashed his mace into Blados' left knee, tearing apart the bone, cartilage, muscle, everything. Blados roared in pain, and swung his blade down, slicing into Rief's shoulder when suddenly he felt a Child of Vale slash across the backs of his knees, severing the left knee entirely, and cutting off all mobility in his other leg.

The Tuaparang General fell to his knees, roaring in absolute pain. Alex's spawn held Tisiphone Edge to Blados' neck.

"I will end you, if you try anything." He warned.

Blados said nothing, but dropped his blade.

Matthew rose over the dune, pure anger and adrenaline powering his movements.

"Where is she?!" Matthew screeched.

"Gone." Blados replied.

Despite his obvious fatigued, Matthew dropped the Sol Blade and picked up the Tua General.

"Where. Is. She." Matthew asked fiercely.

"Tua City." Blados answered, Matthew's fingers digging into his neck.

Blados slipped a hand down, grabbing the knife strapped to Blados' waist and slammed it into his chest, dropping the warrior in the sand, dying.

"You took her from me." Matthew turned around. "This is what you deserve."

_ Author's Notes: Hopefully that was suitable dark for you guys. Also sorry for this update taking a while. Sorry for every update taking a while. Luckily, it did manage to come out. I thank you guys very much for your reviews. I deeply appreciate them, and hope ya'll keep them going. It's practically my only motivation for writing, so they're quite nice. _

_ On a separate note; this is the 21__st__ chapter, which means we're just over half way! Ain't that exciting?! Next chapter is called The Schism. And while I'd like to say that I'll manage one more update before the end of the year, I think that that is rather unlikely. Next chapter features none other than Abaddon, if you guys even remember who that is at this point. Hopefully you do. _

_ Now for the Penultimate topic, If you guys have questions or concerns, then I'm mightily glad to answer. Just drop me a PM. Finally, I'd love to hear a critical review of what I suck at, and what I can actually do somewhat well. (hopefully there's something). I can never improve If no one tells me what's wrong. _

_ So next up I'm thinking about doing some type of Winter One-Shot. Not sure if it'll be set in Weyard, or not. At the moment I'm thinking Skyrim or Dishonored. Hopefully some of you guys will check it out. _

_ Thanks for reading guys. _


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